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I 


I  THEOLOGICAL   SEMInSy^| 
Princeton,  N.  J.  ^ 


BX    8949    .06    H69    1860 
Hoyt,    James,    1817-1866. 
The   Mountain   society:" 


-JS-'A 


THE     OLD     PAKSONAOE. 


"The  Mountain  Society:" 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


FIRST  PRESBTTEEIAN  CHURCH, 

ORANGE,  N.   J. 


OEG.l.>aZED   ABOUT  THE   YEAR  1719   AS  AN  INDEPE.VDEXT  SOQETT,    AND   LONG   KNOWS 
AS  THE  "  CHURCH  AT  NEWAKK   MOUNTAINS  ;"    PRESBYTERIAN  SINCE  1748  ;  INCOR- 
PORATED  IN   1783    AS    THE    SECOND    PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH    IN     NEWARK  ; 
AND  KNOWN    BY   ITS     PRESENT    TITLE   SINCE  1811  :     WTIH    AN    ACCOUNT 
OF  THE   E^'.RLIEST  SETTLEMENTS  IN  NEWARK  AND   ITS   VICINITY,  THE 
NAMES    AND    LOCALITIES    OF    THE  FIRST    SETTLERS  NEAR    THE 
MOUNTAIN,   THE   CONTRO\'EIlSIES  AND   RIOTS    RELATIVE  TO 
rSOPKIETARY  AND  INDIAN  LAND  TITLES,  INaDENTS  OF 
THE    REVOLUTION,    THE    FORMATION     OF    OTHEE 
CHURCHES,     ETC.,  ETC.  ;     COMPRISING    THE 
MOST  INTERESTING  PARTICULARS  IN  THE 
CIVIL  AND   RELIGIOUS   HISTORY   OF 
ORANGBL 


BY    JAMES    HOYT^ 

PASTOR   OF  THE   CHURCH. 


NEW  YORK : 

PUBLISHED  BY   C.  M.  SAXTON,  BARKER  &  CO., 
No.   25   Park   Row. 

18G0. 


ICntercd  acoording  to  Act  of  Congresf,  in  the  year  1860,  by 

C.    M.    SAXTON, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for 
•  the  Southern  District  of  New  Torlc. 


Edward  O.  .If.nkins,  T'rinter, 
26  Frankfort  St.,  N.  Y. 


This  volume — the  fruit  of  laborious  and  careful  researcli,  yet 
somewhat  hastily  written — is  respectfully  presented  to  the  Session 
of  the  First  Church,  under  whose  advice  it  was  undertaken ;  to  the 
Congregation  whose  indulgence  has  been  shown  to  the  writer  in  its 
preparation ;  to  his  many  fellow- townsmen  who  have  encouraged 
him  in  it ;  to  the  gentlemen  who  have  aided  in  the  collection  of 
its  materials ;  and  to  all  who  shall  further  patronize  it  as  a  worthy 
endeavor  to  preserve  what  is  memorable  in  our  past  and  passing 
local  history. 


PREFACE. 


The  historical  materials  here  presented  have"  been 
collected,  during  the  last  two  years,  in  the  midst  of 
professional  engagements  which  only  a  pastor  can 
fully  appreciate.  The  task  of  arrangement  has  been 
executed  during  the  latter  half  of  that  period.  Had 
all  the  difficulties  of  such  a  work  been  understood  by 
the  writer  in  advance,  it  is  not  at  all  likely  he  would 
ever  have  undertaken  it.  Yet  he  has  felt  in  a  degree 
compensated  by  the  success  of  his  researches.  This 
is  the  only  compensation  expected,  aside  from  the 
satisfaction  of  doing  a  service  which  may  prove  ac- 
ceptable to  the  community  among  whom  his  lot  is 
cast.  A  local  history  of  tliis  sort  can  have  no  general 
circulation  through  the  book  markets.  Its  value, 
however,  is  not  entirely  local,  nor  limited  in  time. 
The  Christian  public  at  large,  and  the  Church  of  the 
future,  have  an  interest  in  the  preservation  from 
oblivion  of  the  names  and  deeds  of  those  who  founded 
our  civil  and  sacred  institutions. 


6  PREFACE. 

He  who  planted  His  Church,  niul  with  it  a  purer 
civilization,  in  Canaan,  "  made  His  wonderful  works 
to  be  remembered."  This  was  done  for  a  time  by 
historical  monuments,  as  by  the  twelve  stones  taken 
out  of  Jordan,  the  Ebenezer  set  up  by  Samuel,  the 
manna  laid  up  in  the  ark,  &c., — memorials  that  served 
to  2:>erpetuate  a  traditional  history.  But  these  memo- 
rials Avcre  perishable,  and  traditions  could  not  long 
be  relied  on.  Hence  the  pens  of  historians  were  also 
employed. 

The  early  Puritan  Churches  of  America  have  abun- 
dance of  unwritten  memorials.  In  every  piece  of  our 
grand  frame-work  of  institutions  are  seen  the  Ebene- 
zers  which  successive  generations  have  reared.  The 
First  Church  of  Orange  -may  point  to  its  "  pile  of 
stones,"  containing  the  very  material  of  a  more  an- 
cient sanctuary — "  our  holy  and  our  beautiful  house, 
where  our  fathers  praised,"  more  than  a  huudred  years 
ago.  It  has  preserved,  too,  its  ancient  faith  and  pol- 
ity. But  no  written  history  of  it  has  ever  before 
been  attempted.  The  men  of  the  past  knew  little  of 
their  own  importance  to  the  religious  future  of  the 
country  ;  and  if  they  had  known  it  better,  they  were 
so  engrossed  with  the  struggles  and  necessities  of  the 
hour  as  to  have  little  leisure  for  the  historian's  work. 
If  Ave  have  a,s  little  in  these  no  less  stirring  times,  we 


PKEFACE.  7 

have  readied  a  position  which  makes  it  imperative 
that  the  task  here  undertaken  be  no  longer  delayed. 
The  past  recedes,  and  the  obscurity  that  gathers  over 
the  annals  of  our  older  churches  will  soon  be  a  dark- 
ness forbidding  all  research.  This  conviction  led  to 
the  formation,  in  1852,  of  the  Presbyterian  Historical 
Society,  with  which  all  ministers,  elders  and  others 
are  invited  to  "  cooperate,  by  collecting  and  trans- 
mitting old  sermons,  pamphlets,  newspapers,  maga- 
zines, letters,  books,  manuscripts,  portraits,  or  any 
relics  of  the  olden  time  which  throw  light  upon  our 
annals."* 

The  existing  records  of  our  Church  Session  date 
from  January  30,  1803,  about  a  year  after  the  settle- 
ment of  Mr.  Hillyer.  Those  which  were  extant  when 
he  came  to  the  parish  are  said  to  have  perished  in  a 
fire.  Thus  the  names  of  the  ancient  officers  of  the 
Church,  the  record  of  its  membership,  and  the  account 
of  its  spiritual  administration  for  more  than  eighty 
years,  were  forever  lost,  except  as  the  first  might  be 
gathered  from  other  documents  and  memorials  which 
time  has  spared.  The  oldest  papers  in  the  parish  are 
certain  deeds  preserved  by  the  trustees,  which  date 
from  its  beginning.     The  oldest  volume  is  the  private 

*  Any  contributions  of  the  kind  may  be  sent  to  Samuel  Agnew, 
Esq.,  821  Chestnut  street,  Philadelphia. 


8  PREFACE. 

account-book,  m  the  form  of  a  ledger,  and  once  well 
bound  in  parchment,  kept  by  the  second  pastor, 
Caleb  Smith,  and  commenced  in  1T51.  In  this  are 
found  the  names  of  his  parishioners,  of  a  number  of 
boys  instructed  by  him,  and  an  account  of  the  settle- 
ment of  his  estate  by  the  executors.  After  his  death 
tiie  trustees  kept  their  records  in  it,  and  copied  into 
it  the  charter  obtained  in  1783.  And  from  that  time 
the  minutes  of  the  trustees,  and  t])0se  of  the  annual 
meetings  of  the  parish,  have  been  preserved.  From 
these  and  other  sources  much  knowledge  has  been  ob- 
tained respecting  the  parish  during  the  last  century. 
The  labor  involved  in  researches  of  this  kind  is 
peculiarly  tedious.  Let  the  reader  imagine  himself 
starting  from  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  without  a 
map,  to  trace  backward  its  lengthened  flow  to  its  dis- 
tant sources.  Let  him  think  of  following  the  trunk 
up  to  its  branches,  and  these  to  their  tributaries,  and 
these  to  their  thousand  little  feeders  and  inlets. 
Such  a  labor  is  this.  It  has  sometimes  required 
months  to  trace  some  family  stream  to  its  ancient 
springlet.  Many  an  afternoon  has  been  passed  in  the 
old  gi-aveyard,  among  monuments  so  bronzed  and 
moss-grown  by  the  long  action  of  the  elements,  as 
almost  to  defy  the  hand  of  Old  Mortality.  Recourse 
has  been   hnd  to  historical   societies,  to  ecclesiastical 


PREFACE.  9 

records,  to  old  account-books  and  journals,  to  deeds 
and  wills,  to  town  records,  and  to  the  living  descend- 
ants of  pastors  and  others  noticed  in  the  history. 
The  list  of  Church  officers  and  the  statistical  tables 
are  the  result  of  investigations  renevv^ed  and  perse- 
vered in  for  a  year  or  more.  Of  all  this  tbe  reader 
will  have  little  thought  as  his  eye  runs  over  the 
pages.  But  as  the  beauty  and  pleasure  of  life,  or  the 
value  of  any  work  of  art,  is  a  result  depending  on  a 
thousand  indispensable  details  and  trifles,  even  so  is 
it  wath  a  historical  narrative.  The  present  labor  will 
have  its  reward,  if,  in  this  "  walk  about  Zion,"  the 
writer  has  gathered  anything  worthy  of  being  "  told 
to  the  generation  following." 

In  that  portion  of  the  work  which  relates  to  the 
early  settlements  of  the  town,  free  use  has  been  made 
of  Dr.  Stearns'  History  of  the  First  Church  in  Newark ; 
and  much  personal  aid  has  been  received  from  Dr. 
Samuel  II.  Congar,  "  the  indefatigable  antiquarian  of 
Newark,"  and  librarian  of  the  New  Jersey  Historical 
Society.  Indeed,  without  the  kind  interest  taken  in 
the  work  by  the  latter  gentleman,  the  history  in  its 
present  expanded  form  would  never  have  been  under- 
taken. In  the  biographical  notices  of  two  of  the  pas- 
tors (Smith  and  Hilly er),  much  information  has  been 
drawn  from   Sprague's  Annals  of  the  American   Pul- 


10  PREFACE. 

pit.  For  many  facts  relating  to  Jedediah  Chapman, 
the  writer  is  indebted  to  his  gi-andson,  Kev.  Robert 
H.  Chapman,  D.  D.,  of  Asheville,  N.  C.  He  is  also 
under  obligations  to  Rev.  Dr.  Van  Rensselaer,  of 
Philadelphia,  Rev.  Dr.  Sprague,  of  Albany,  Rev.  Dr. 
Murray,  of  Geneva,  Rev.  Dr.  Krebs,  of  New  York, 
and  a  number  of  others,  for  their  courteous  responses 
to  his  inquiries. 

The  brief  notices  given  of  other  religious  societies 
in  Orange  are  from  statements  kindly  furnished  by 
their  present  pastors.  That  of  the  Bloomfield  Church 
is  from  the  published  historical  discourses  of  its  late 
j)astor.  Rev.  J.  M.  Sherwood. 

While  the  pai'ticular  subject  of  this  history  is  the 
Mountain  Society^  it  "snll  be  seen  to  be  identified 
through  a  long  period  Avith  a  general  history  of  this 
part  of  the  old  township  of  Newark.  The  author 
has  undertaken  it  in  the  hope  of  doing  an  acceptable 
service  to  his  fellow-townsmen  of  eveiy  class,  as  well 
as  to  the  congre2:ation  to  Avhom  ho  ministers. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

EARLY     SETTLEMENTS. 

A  Hundred  and  Forty  Years  Ago— Glance  at  the  Colonies— Ante- 
cedent History — Proprietary  Government— Settlement  of  New- 
ark—Names of  the  Settlers— A  Disappointment— Purchase  of 
Lands— Second  Purchase — Casting  of  the  Lot — Mountain  Farms 
— Settlers  near  the  Mountain — Accessions — Men  who  Made  their 
Mark — Character  of  the  Hackinsacks — Bears  and  Wolves — 
Houses— Self-Government— End  of  Proprietary  Rule— Horse- 
neck  Purchase 13-45 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    MOUNTAIN    SOCIETY. 

Half  a  Centurj' — A  Generation  Gone — Presbyterianism  and  Con- 
gregationalism— Changes  in  Newark — A  Society  organized  at 
the  Mountain — Lost  Records — Deed  given  by  Thomas  Gardner 
in  1719— Site  for  a  Sanctuary — Question  of  Date— Newark  Par- 
sonage Lands — Purchase  made  by  the  Mountain  Society — Its 


12  CONTENTS. 

Boundaries — A  "  Dissenting  Ministry  " — First  Meeting-House — 
Spirit  of  the  Settlers — Samuel  Pierson,  the  Carpenter — Hands 
that  Helped — A  Happy  Day — Pews  and  Pulpit — Lining  the 
Psalm — Peaceful  Worship 46-57 

CHAPTER  III. 

EEV.    DANIEL    TAYLOR. 

Graduation  at  Killingworth — Labors  on  Long  Island — Death  of 
his  Wife— Eemoval  to  New  Jersey — Deeds  and  Dates — Home- 
stead and  Farm— Revival  of  1734-5 — Negro  Plots— The  Great 
Land  Monopoly — Its  Rights  Examined — Measures  of  Defence — • 
Prosecutions  and  Riots — The  Rioters  Vindicated — Defence  of 
the  Proprietors— Mr.  Taylor's  Part  in  the  Controversy — Mr. 
Taylor's  Will— His  Death— Officers  of  the  Church  -    46-81 

CHAPTER  IV. 

KEV.     CALEB     SMITH. 

Samuel  Harrison's  Day-Book  —  Parsonage  House  —  The  Young 
Minister — The  Church  Presbyterian — The  Minister's  Marriage — 
Parsonage  Memories — Wood-Drawing — More  Riots — A  Queer 
Wind  —  Influence  on  the  Provincial  Assembly  —  Indictments 
and  Fines— Second  Meeting-House — Contract  for  Finishing — 
Pewholders  and  Rates — A  Hurricane — Death  of  Mrs.  Smith — 
Sanctified  Sorrows — Second  Marriage — Mr.  Smith's  Character — 
Catechizing — Anecdotes — His  Sickness — His  Death — Memoir — 
Settlement  of  his  Estate 82-110 

CHAPTER  V. 

EEV.     JEDEDIAH     CHAPMAN. 

Letters  to  Rev.  Josepli  Bellamy— Settlement  of  Mr.  Chapman — 
His  Marriage — Inadequate  Support — Death  of  Mrs.  Chapman — 
Second  Marriage — Samuel  Harrison's  Will— The  Patriot  Pastor 


CONTENTS.  13 

— Revolutionary  Incidents — Two  Young  Adventurers — A  Court 
Martial — Figures  Sometimes  Lie — Murder  of  Stephen  Ball — 
Effects  of  the  "War — Fourth  of  July — Mr.  Chapman's  Politics — 
The  Parish  Incorporated — Orange  Sloop — Orange  Academy — 
Division  of  Parsonage  Lands — Caldwell  Church — "Orange  "  and 
"  Orangedale  " — Sermon  before  Synod — Items  voted  by  the 
Trustees — Collection  of  Rates — Bell-Ringers— Lots  for  Sale — 
School  Advertisements — Church  at  Bloomfield — Mr,  Chapman's 
Salary — His  Dismission— Newark  Cider — Anecdotes  of  Mr.  G. — 
His  Missionary  Labors,  and  Settlement  at  Geneva — His  Death. 

111-153 


CHAPTER  VI. 

.   REV.     ASA    HILLYEE,     D.  D. 

A  New  Century— Light  from  the  Inner  Temple — Revival  under 
the  Preaching  of  Mr.  Griffin — Mr.  HiUyer's  Impressions  of  Him 
— Board  Account— Rev.  Asa  HLUyer — Ministry  at  Madison — 
Call  to  Orange — Archibald  Alexander — View  of  the  Parish — 
Church  Officers-The  Common— Sale  of  Lots— Revival  of  ISOT-S 
— Effects  on  the  Youth — A  Ball  given  up — Strong  Convictions — 
— An  Impressive  Scene — The  Ingathering — Orange  Township- 
Mr.  H.'s  Salary— Tliird  Meetmg-House— The  Old  BeU— Dedica- 
tion and  Thanksgiving — The  Sermon — Cost  of  the  Edifice — 
The  Mineral  Spring — Provision  for  Servants — Removal  from  the 
Parsonage— Revival  of  1816-17— Sunday-school— Bible  Society 
— National  Societies — A  Doctor's  Degree — Academy  Deed — 
Retrospect— St.  Mark's  Episcopal  Church— Death  of  Mrs.  Hill- 
yer — Methodist  Church — Second  Presbyterian  and  South  Orange 
Churches— Rev.  Edwin  F.  Hatfield,  and  the  Revival  of  1832— 
Dr.  Hillyer's  Resignation — Division  of  the  General  Assembly — 
Sermon  before  the  Synod — The  Last  Communion — His  Death — 
Tablet  Inscription 154-202 


14  CONTENTS, 

CHAPTER  VII. 

REV.     WILLIAM     C.     WHITE. 

His  Nativity — Studies — Preaching  at  East  Macliias— Settlement  at 
Orange— State  of  tlie  Parisli— Causes  of  Diminution— Cliureh 
Officers — Salary — Second  Parsonage — First  Baptist  Church — 
School  Laws — End  of  the  Academy — Vest  Bloomfield  Church — 
Sexton's  Salary  —  Hymn  Book  —  Lecture-Eoom  —  Decrease  of 
Membership — Increase  of  Beneficence — Revival  of  1850 — Mor- 
ris and  Essex  Railroad — Immigration — Alterations  of  the  Sanc- 
tuary— Grace  Church— The  Old  Parsonage  Demolished— Mr. 
"White's  Resignation — His  Declining  Health — Rev.  Silas  Billings 
— Mr.  "White's  Sudden  Decease — Minute  adopted  by  the  Session 
— Tablet  Inscription 203-225 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

RE  V .     JAMES     H  O  Y  T  . 

Five  Pastorates — Permanency  of  the  Pastoral  Relation — The 
Writer's  Settlement — Death  of  Judge  Day — Officers  of  the 
Church — New  Officers—View  of  tlie  Parish — James  Greacen — 
Mission  Scliool — North  Orange  Baptist  Church — The  Flock 
Smitten — Commercial  Crisis — Blessings  in  Adversity — Revival 
of  1858-  Features  of  the  Revival — Additions  to  the  Churches — 
New  House  of  Worship  by  the  Methodist  Congregation — Gas 
Lights — Church  Edifice  at  Orange  Valley— Sunday-school  Re- 
established for  Colored  People— What  vire  owe  to  the  Past — 
Progress  of  Society — What  we  may  Claim — Summary  View  of 
the  Churches -         -         -     226-252 

CHAPTER  IX. 

A     VIEAV     OF     ORANGE. 

Orange  in  1834— Climate— Relations  to  Newark  and  New  York  — 
Extent   and   Appearance    -Trade   and   Business   -  Farms   and 


CONTENTS.  15 

Homes— Lie \vell3a1  Park — Eagle  Rock—The  Old  Mineral  Spring 
—Barrett's  Park— The  Mountain  House— Orange  Valley — The 
Village— Springdale  Lake— Second  River  and  the  Streams  that 
form  it — Rosedale  Cemetery — Institutions  of  Orange — Printing- 
Press— Orange  Journal— The  Old  Academy  Building — Orange 
Female  Seminary  —  Private  Schools  and  Academies  —  Public 
Schools — The  Old  Orange  Library — The  Lyceum — The  Orange 
Library  Association — What  the  Village  Needs— Laj,e  Improve- 
ments— Fire  Engine — Police  Wanted — Preliminary  Measures 
Toward  a  Better  Government  of  the  Town        -        -     253-280 


HISTORY. 


CHAPTER  I. 
EARLY     SETTLEMENTS. 

IN  those  ancient  Lands  where  civilization  had  its 
birth,  the  centuries  pass  with  little  change  of 
scenery  or  society.  "  That  which  hath  been  is  now, 
and  that  which  is  to  be  hath  already  been."  Na- 
tions revolve,  like  the  planets,  in  a  fixed  orbit,  and 
the  stereoscope  of  history  presents  ever  the  same 
view.  The  pyramids  are  their  historic  symbols. 
The  current  of  the  ages  brings  nothing  to  them  and 
bears  nothing  away.  Even  changes  of  race  and 
religion  leave  behind  them  a  marvellous  sameness. 
The  old  is  a  receptacle  of  the  new,  and  arts,  man- 
ners and  ideas  are  soon  shaped  to  the  mould  into 
which  they  have  been  cast.  The  causes  are  ob- 
vious ;  the  cautious  conservatism  of  despotic  gov- 
ernments, and  the  stagnation  of  man's  intellectual 
life  under  them. 
2 


14  GLANCE   AT  THE   COLONIES. 

We  need  not  suggest  to  the  intelligent  reader  the 
contrast  seen  in  our  western  civilization,  especially 
in  the  free  States  of  North  America.  Here  all  is 
action,  motion,  progression.  Turning  the  eye  to 
any  part  of  the  wide  field  of  our  history,  we  see 
realized  in  society  the  gigantic  strides  ascribed  by 
Homer  to  his  divinities. 

The  present  history  dates  from  a  point  not  very 
ancient — less  than  two  hundred  years  ago.  Its 
proper  beginning  lies  nearer,  in  the  time  of  George 
the  First,  about  two-thirds  of  a  century  before  our 
national  independence.  The  European  popula- 
tion of  New  England  then  scarcely  exceeded  a 
hundred  thousand.  East  and  West  Jersey  were 
just  united.  The  smoke  of  the  wigwam  rose  here 
in  the  forest;  the  fox  and  the  wolf  strayed  without 
fear  from  their  mountain  coverts. 

The  Boston  Neivs-Letier,  the  first  American 
newspaper,  was  but  fourteen  years  old,  and  without 
a  competitor.  Philadelphia  and  New  York  were 
provincial  villages. 

The  first  post-ofiice  in  America,  at  New  York, 
had  been  established  less  than  ten  years.  The 
spinning-wheel  was  just  crossing  the  ocean,  and  the 
potato  was  just  taking  root  on  the  plantations  of 
Londonderry.  The  first  cargo  of  tea  was  about  em- 
barking, to  try  its  fortunes  this  side  of  the  water. 
The  colonists  were  yet  dependent  on  Europe  for 
their  table  luxuries,  for  many  physical  comforts, 


ANTECEDENT   HISTORY.  15 

for  Bibles  and  other  books,  for  academic  privileges 
and  preachers.  There  was  in  New  York  "  a  small 
Presbyterian  flock,  assembling  in  a  house  without 
galleries,  six  out  of  its  eight  windows  being  closed 
with  boards,  poverty  preventing  their  being  glazed, 
and  the  fraction  of  light  being  enough  for  the  hand- 
ful of  people."* 

The  old  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  formed 
about  1706  with  seven  ministers,  had  increased  in 
number  to  twenty -five,  and  had  just  resolved  itself 
in  1716  into  four  presbyteries,  forming  a  synod. 
New  Jersey  had  scarcely  a  dozen  churches.  The 
founder  of  Methodism  was  a  youth  of  sixteen  in 
Oxford  university,  quite  ignorant  of  the  grand  mis- 
sion for  which  the  grace  of  God  was  preparing  him. 
His  future  competitor  in  the  work  of  evangelical 
reform,  George  Whitefield,  was  playing  about  the 
rooms  of  the  Bell  Inn,  kept  by  his  mother  at 
Gloucester,  a  lad  of  five  years  old.  Since  that  day, 
— a  hundred  and  forty  years  ago — what  hath  God 
wrought !  These  fourteen  decades, — have  they  not 
been,  in  the  progress  of  American  civilization  and 
Christianity,  as  fourteen  centuiies  ? 

But  we  shall  have  to  go  back  a  little  farther  to 
gain  the  proper  starting-point  of  the  present  narra- 
tive. Our  history  Avill  lead  us  over  a  considerable 
period,  during  which  civil  and  ecclesiastical  affairs 

*  Webster's  Hist.  Pres.  Cluirch,  p.  120.  The  Church  was  or- 
ganized in  1715. 


16  PROPRIETARY   GOVERNMENT. 

were  blended.  We  shall  find  the  ground  we  stand 
upon  a  field  of  conflict  with  English  proprietors, 
and  a  religious  community  unhappily  agitated  by 
"questions  of  their  law."  We  may  as  well,  there- 
fore, at  the  outset,  explain  the  antecedents  of  that 
controversy,  by  giving  a  short  account  of  the  settle- 
ment of  this  region,  under  the  proprietary  govern- 
ment. 

As  early  as  1658,  a  settlement  was  begun  upon 
what  was  called  the  "  Bergen  grant,"  on  which  a 
trading  station  had  been  established  by  the  Dutch, 
forty  years  before.  In  1663,  a  band  of  Puritans 
from  Long  Island  obtained  permission  of  the  Dutch 
to  plant  their  institutions  on  the  banks  of  tlie 
Raritan  and  the  Minnisink.  In  the  following  year, 
some  families  of  Quakers  were  found  on  the  south 
side  of  Raritan  Bay.  In  the  same  year.  King 
Charles  the  Second,  by  letters  patent  under  the 
great  seal  of  England,  granted  to  his  brother  James, 
Duke  of  York,  a  tract  of  land  stretching  from  the 
Connecticut  river  to  the  Delaware.  Of  this  exten- 
sive grant,  the  portion  now  called  New  Jersey  was 
conveyed  the  same  year,  by  deeds  of  lease  and  re- 
lease, to  John  Lord  Barclay  [or  Berkley]  and  Sir 
George  Carteret.  This  portion  was  again  divided, 
in  1676,  between  Sir  George  and  the  assigns  of 
Lord  Berkley,  the  former  taking  the  eastern  part. 
Carteret,  by  his  will,  dated  December  5,  1678,  de- 
vised to  certain  trustees  therein  named  a  power  to 


KULES  OF   SETTLEMENT.  17 

sell  East  New  Jersey  ;  a  trust  which  was  executed 
three  years  thereafter,  by  a  sale,  conveying  the 
same  in  fee  to  William  Penu,  Kobert  West  and 
others,  to  the  number  of  twelve.  These  twelve 
proprietors,  by  particular  deeds,  took  each  a  part- 
ner, so  that  East  New  Jersey  became  vested  in 
twenty-four  persons,  who  were  known  thencefor- 
ward as  the  twenty-four  Proprietors.  By  these  a 
Council  of  Proprietors  was  appointed,  to  consist  of 
at  least  one-third  part  of  the  whole  number  of 
proprietors,  or  their  proxies,  and  possessing  all  ne- 
cessary powers  of  administration.* 

To  encourage  immigration,  the  proprietors,  Berk- 
ley and  Carteret,  published  their  "Charters  of 
Concessions,"  prescribing  the  fundamental  rules  and 
methods  by  which  property  in  their  lands  should 
be  acquired.  One  was,  "That  all  such  persons 
who  should  transport  themselves  into  the  province 
of  New  Jersey  within  certain  times  limited  by  the 
said  Concessions,  should  be  entitled  to  grants  or 
patents  under  the  seal  of  the  Province,  for  certain 
quantities  of  acres  in  the  said  Concessions  expressed, 
paying  therefore  yearly  the  rent  of  one  half-penny, 
sterling  money,  for  every  acre  so  to  be  granted." 
Another  rule  was,  "That  all  lands  should  be  pur- 
chased by  the  governor  and  council  from  the 
Indians,  from  time  to  time,  as  there  should  be  oc- 

*  See  Publication  of  the  Council  of  Proprietors,  March  25,  1746, 
in  appendix  to  Bill  in  Chancery  ;  also,  in  New  York  Post-Boy. 


18  NEWARK  SETTLED. 

casion,  in  the  name  of  the  Lords  Proprietors  ;  and 
every  person  settling  was  to  pay  his  proportion  of 
that  purchase  money  and  charges."'"'  It  will  be 
seen  that  the  proprietors  recognized  in  these  rules 
the  right  of  the  Indians  to  a  compensation  for  their 
lands,  while  they  monopolized  the  right  of  purchase. 
No  others  could  buy  but  through  them.  The 
Indians  could  sell  only  to  them.  Against  this  as- 
sumption of  power  over  the  soil  and  its  original 
tenants,  there  was  made  subsequently  a  vigorous 
and  determined  opposition. 

In  August,  1665,  Philip  Carteret,  a  brother  of 
Sir  George,  having  received  an  appointment  from 
the  proprietors  as  governor  of  the  colony,  appeared 
among  the  tenants  of  the  scattered  cabins  about 
Elizabethtown,  which  was  then  but  a  cluster  of  four 
houses.  In  honor  of  Lady  Carteret,  the  place  re- 
ceived her  name,  and  rose  into  dignity  as  the  capital 
of  the  province. 

The  settlement  of  Newark,  by  immigrants  from 
Connecticut,  began  in  the  following  year.  The 
movement  was  occasioned  by  dissatisfaction  with 
certain  measures  attending  the  uaion  of  the  New 

'*  Publication,  &c.  as  above.  They  also  offered  a  bounty  of 
seventy-five  acres  for  the  importation  of  each  able  slave.  This  in- 
human appeal  to  avarice  had  its  motive  in  the  fact  that  the  Duke 
of  York  v?as  a  patron  of  the  slave  trade,  and  president  of  the 
African  Company. 
f  Bancroft,  Hist.  U.  S.,  Vol.  II.,  p.  318. 


OBJECT   OF   THE   SETTLERS.  19 

Haven  and  the  Connecticut  colonies,  of  wbicli  one  of 
the  most  obnoxious  was  the  half-way  covenant,  that 
secured  certain  ecclesiastical  privileges,  such  as  the 
baptism  of  children,  to  persons  not  in  full  com- 
munion with  the  church.  The  2:)ioneer  company, 
which  comprised  about  thirty  families,  came  from 
Milford  in  the  spring  of  1666.  Their  'first  town 
meeting  was  held  the  21st  of  May,  when  delegates 
were  present  from  Guilford  and  Branford  to  con- 
fer upon  the  subject  of  a  union  in  the  organization 
of  a  township.  The  union  was  mutually  agreed 
upon,  and  its  object  and  conditions  explained  and 
arranged.  The  great  object  was  "  the  carrying  on 
of  spiritual  concernments,  as  also  of  civil  and  town 
aJBtairs,  according  to  God,  and  a  godly  government," 
which  had  ever  been  the  cherished  idea  of  the 
Puritans.  It  was  a  grand  religious  idea,  but  every 
experiment,  before  and  then,  only  added  to  the 
proof  that  "  spiritual  concernments"  are  best  carried 
on  through  institutions  of  their  own,  under  political 
protection,  yet  separated  from  civil  affairs.  A  godly 
government,  as  they  understood  it,  cannot  long  be 
maintained  without  the  disfranchisement  of  worthy 
citizens.  And  the  making  of  piet3''  and  church 
communion  a  necessary  qualification  for  civil" 
offices,  is  but  a  premium  offered  to  hypocrisy. 
The  settlement  of  Newark  was  among  the  last  ex- 
periments that  demonstrated  the  delusive  hope  of 
the  old  Puritans,  who  were  greatly  wise  in  many 


20        FUNDAMENTAL  AGREEMENT. 

things,  but  not  in  all.  It  was  another  and  vain 
repetition  of  an  experiment  which  the  Branford 
pastor  had  already  made  at  two  previous  settle- 
ments, first  on  Long  Island,  and  then  at  Branford. 

In  the  following  October,  the  delegates  having 
returned  and  reported,  a  meeting  was  held  at  Bran- 
ford, and  two  articles  drawn  up,  known  as  "the 
fundamental  agreement,"  to  which  twenty-three 
principal  men  of  the  town  attached  their  names. 
They  were  the  following  : 

"1.  That  none  shall  be  admitted  freemen  or  free 
Burgesses  within  our  town  upon  Passaic  river,  in  the 
Province  of  New  Jersey,  but  such  planters  as  are 
members  of  some  or  other  of  the  Congregational 
Churches,  nor  shall  any  but  such  be  chosen  to 
magistracy,  or  to  carry  on  any  part  of  civil  judica- 
ture, or  as  deputies  or  assistants  to  have  power  to 
vote  in  establishing  laws,  and  making  or  repealing 
them,  or  to  any  chief  military  trust  or  office ;  nor 
shall  any  but  such  church  members  have  any  vote 
in  any  such  elections ;  though  all  others  admitted 
to  be  planters,  have  right  to  their  proper  inheri- 
tances, and  do  and  shall  enjoy  all  other  civil  liberties 
and  privileges  according  to  all  laws,  orders,  grants, 
•which  are  or  shall  hereafter  be  made  for  this  town. 

2.  We  shall,  with  care  and  diligence,  provide  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  purity  of  religion  professed 
in  the  Congregational  churches."  * 

'■"'  Newark  Town  Records.     Stearns'  Hist.,  p.  11. 


NAMES   OF    SETTLERS. 


21 


These  articles  were  subscribed  by- 


JASPER  CRANE, 
ABRAHAM  PIERSON, 
SAMUEL  SWAINE, 
LAURENCE  WARD, 
THOMAS  BLACTHLY, 
SAMUEL  PLUM, 
JOSIAH  "WARD, 
SAMUEL  ROSE, 
THOMAS  PIERSON, 
JOHN  WARD, 
JOHN  CATLING, 


RICHARD  HARRISON, 
EBENEZER  CANFIELD, 
JOHN  WARD,  SEN., 
EDWARD  BALL, 
JOHN  HARRISpN, 
JOHN  CRANE, 
THOMAS  HUNTINGTON, 
DELIVERED  CRANE, 
AARON  BLACTHLY, 
RICHARD  LAURENCE, 
JOHN  JOHNSON, 


THOMAS  LYON. 


And  upon  being  transmitted  to  the  new  settlement 
the  inhabitants  already  there  held  a  public  meeting, 
June  24,  1667,  when  the  following  names,  forty  in 
number,  were  also  subscribed  to  them  : 


ROBERT  TREAT, 
OBADIAH  BRUEN, 
MATTHEW  CAMFIELD, 
SAMUEL  KITCHELL, 
JEREMIAH  PECK, 
MICHAEL  TOMPKINS, 
STEPHEN  FREEMAN, 
HENRY  LYON, 
JOHN  BROWNE, 
JOHN  ROGERS, 
STEPHEN  DAVIS, 
2* 


GEORGE  DAY, 
THOMAS  JOHNSON, 
JOHN  CURTIS, 
EPHRAIM  BURWELL, 
ROBERT  DENISON, 
NATHANIEL  WHEELER, 
WILLIAM  CAMP, 
JOSEPH  WALTERS, 
ROBERT  DALGLESH, 
HANS  ALBERS, 
THOMAS  MORRIS, 


22  A  DISAPPOINTMENT. 

EDWARD  RIGS,  HUGH  ROBERTS, 

ROBERT  KITCHELL,  EPHRAIM  PENNINGTON, 

JOHN  BROOKS,  MARTIN  TICHENOR, 

ROBERT  LYMENS,  JOHN  BROWN,  JUN., 

FRANCIS  LINLE,  JONATHAN  SEARGEANT, 

DANIEL  TICHENOR,  AZARIAH  CRANE, 

JOHN  BAULDWIN,  SEN,,  SAMUEL  LYON, 
JOHN  BAULDWIN,  JUN,,  JOSEPH  RIGGS, 
JONATHAN  TOMPKINS,     STEPHEN  BOND. 

The  names  thus  brouglit  from  tlie  Connecticut 
coast  to  the  banks  of  the  Passaic  have  since  ra- 
diated in  all  directions  over  this  portion  of  New- 
Jersey  ;  while  the  church  in  Newark,  whose  roll 
they  first  constituted,  and  in  which  many  of  them 
are  yet  found,  is  still  "  liice  a  tree  planted  by  the 
rivers  of  water,"  Its  leaf  has  not  withered  by  an 
age  of  nearly  two  hundred  years. 

We  have  seen  that,  by  the  Concessions,  all  lands 
were  to  be  purchased  of  the  Indians  by  the  Gov- 
ernor and  Council  in  the  name  of  the  proprietors, 
while  every  person  settling  was  to  pay  his  propor- 
tion of  the  purchase  money  and  charges.  By  this 
rule  the  colonists  expected  to  find  Indian  claims 
pacified,  and  the  way  clear  for  the  undisturbed 
occupancy  of  such  lands  as  they  needed.  But 
when  the  Milford  compan}'  arrived  and  commenced 
landing  their  goods,  a  party  of  the  Hackinsacks 
appeared,  who  warned  them  off,  saying  the  lands 


PURCHASE  OF   LANDS.  23 

were  uot  yet  purchased.  This  unexpected  an- 
nouncement came  near  defeating  the  enterprise. 
For  "  on  the  subject  of  real  estate  in  the  New 
World,  the  Puritans  differed  from  the  lawyers 
widely ;  asserting  that  the  heathen,  as  a,  part  of 
the  lineal  descendants  of  Noah,  had  a  rightful 
claim  to  their  lands."*  And  so,  putting  their 
goods  back  upon  the  vessel,  they  were  about  to 
return.  The  governor,  however,  dissuaded  them 
from  this,  and  as  the  Indians  were  not  unwilling 
to  sell  their  lands,  resort  was  had  to  negotiation. 
The  agents  on  the  part  of  the  town  were  Eobert 
Treat  and  Samuel  Edsal ;  on  the  part  of  the  In- 
dians, the  chief  negotiator  was  Perro^  a  Sagamore, 
acting  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  an  aged 
Sagamore,  not  then  able  to  travel,  whose  name  was 
OratoTL  John  Capteen,  a  Dutchman,  assisted  the 
negotiations  as  interpreter.  This  was  in  1666. 
The  bill  of  sale  was  not  made  out  till  July  11, 
1667.  This  was  signed  by  Obadiah  Bruen,  Michael 
Tompkins,  Samuel  Kitchell,  John  Brown,  and  Eo- 
bert Denison,  on  the  part  of  the  town ;  and  by 
Wapamuck,  Harish,  Captamin,  Sessom,  Mamus- 
tome,  Peter,  Wamesane,  Wekaprokikan,  Cacnack- 
que  and  Perawae,  on  the  part  of  the   Indians.f 

*  Bancroft,  Yol.  II.,  319. 

f  Stearns'  Hist.,  p.  11.  "Was  Perro,  (whose  name  is  variously 
spelled  in  the  old  manuscripts  as  Perro,  Parow,  Parrow,  Ac.,)  the 
same  person  with  Perawae  ' 


24  SECOND    PURCHASE. 

The  purchase  extended  to  the  foot  of  the  great 
mountain  called  Watchung,"  The  price  paid  was 
"  fifty  double  hands  of  powder,  one  hundred  bars 
of  lead,  twenty  coats,  ten  guns,  twenty  pistols,  ten 
kettles,  ten  swords,  four  blankets^  four  barrels  of 
beer,  ten  pair  of  breeches,  fifty  knives,  twenty 
hoes,  eight  hundred  and  fifty  fathom  of  wampum, 
twenty  ankers  of  liquors,  or  something  equivalent, 
and  three  troopers'  coats."  A  second  purchase, 
March  13,  1677-8,  extended  the  limits  to  the  top 
of  the  mountain,  for  "  two  guns,  three  coats,  and 
thirteen  cans  of  rum."* 

The  second  purchase  was  from  "  Winachsop  and 
Shenachtos^  Indians,  the  owners  of  the  great  moun- 
tain Watchung."  The  reader  who  knows  the  pres- 
ent worth  of  those  mountain  lands,  would  scarcely 
imagine  that  the  whole  broad  slope  which  men  of 
capital  and  taste  are  now  so  eager  to  purchase  and 

*  It  may  interest  the  reader  to  find  a  fragment  of  the  language 
spoken  by  these  primitive  masters  of  the  soil.  The  following 
numerals  are  remembered  by  Aaron  Burr  Harrison,  as  communi- 
cated to  him  by  his  great  uncle,  Samuel  Harrison,  who  was  born 
in  the  year  1719,  and  lived  to  his  92d  year.  We  can  fiincy  iiow 
often  they  were  repeated  during  the  negotiations  above  described. 
We  discover  in  them  the  decimal  svstem. 


1. 

een. 

6. 

latter. 

11. 

een  dick. 

16. 

een  bumsack. 

2. 

teen. 

7. 

satter. 

12. 

teen  dick. 

17. 

teen  bumsack. 

3. 

tether. 

8. 

po. 

13. 

tether  dick. 

18. 

tether  bumsack. 

4. 

fether. 

9. 

debbety. 

U. 

fether  dick. 

19. 

fether  bumsack. 

5. 

fimp. 

10. 

dick. 

15. 

bumsack. 

20. 

enock. 

CASTING   LOTS,  25 

occupy,  was  once  valued  at  "  two  guns,  three  coats, 
and  thirteen  cans  of  rum," 

The  territory  thus  acquired,  by  a  moral  right 
from  the  natives,  and  by  a  legal  right  from  the  Pro- 
prietors, embraced  the  present  townships  of  New- 
ark, Orange,  Bloomfield,  Belleville  and  Clinton. 

In  the  division  of  the  lands,  each  settler  received 
a  "home  lot"  in  the  town  laid  out  on  the  river,  for 
which  lots  were  drawn ;  the  Jersey  Canaan  being 
assorted  in  strict  conformity  with  Hebrew  prece- 
dents— ever  the  Puritanic  model.  There  were, 
also,  first,  second  and  third  divisions  of  the 
"  upland,"  with  an  equitable  distribution  of  the 
"  bogged  meadow,"  an  indispensable  accessor}^ 

The  settlement  on  the  river  began  very  soon  to 
spread  itself  in  this  direction.  The  inviting  plain 
between  the  Passaic  and  the  mountain  could  not 
long  remain  an  uncultivated  woodland,  with  a  race 
of  hardy  yeomanry  growing  up  on  its  border.  We 
give  such  names  as  we  have  been  able  to  gather  of 
those  who  first  located  or  had  lands  surveyed  to 
them  in  this  part  of  the  wilderness. 

Robert  Lymon^  by  warrant  of  Aug.  19,  1675,  had 
''part  of  his  third  division  on  the  mountain" — 44: 
acres — bounded  north-west  by  the  mountain,  north- 
east by  John  Baldwin,  Sen.,  south-east  by  Capt. 
Samuel  Swaine,  south-west  by  Eichard  Harrison. 

August  28,  1675.  Samuel  Swaine  had  40  acres 
at  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  with  John  Baldwin, 


26  ORANGE   SETTLERS. 

Sen.,  on  the  north,  Robert  Ljmon  and  Richard 
Harrison  on  the  west,  Richard  Harrison  on  the  east, 
the  common  on  the  south. 

Sept.  10,  1675.  John  Baldwin^  Sen.,  had  for  his 
third  division,  near  the  mountain,  40  acres,  with 
Capt.  Samuel  Swaine  and  John  Catlin  north,  Ser- 
geant Richard  Harrison  east,  John  Ward  (distin- 
guished as  John  Ward,  turner,)  south,  the  top  of 
the  mountain  west.  John  Catlin  had  60  acres,  ex- 
tending to  the  top  of  tlie  mountain.  Richard  Har- 
rison had  fifty  acres,  with  tlie  widow  Freeman 
south,  and  also  15  acres  "upon  the  branch  of  Rah- 
way  river,"  bounded  west  by  John  Catlin  and 
John  Baldwin,  Sen.,  east  by  a  small  brook  running 
from  the  mountain,  north  and  south  by  the  com- 
mon. 

June  9,  1679.  Thomas  Johnson  had  a  tract  by 
the  foot  of  the  mountain,  50  by  13  chains,  bounded 
north  by  John  Ward,  Jun.,  south  by  Mr.  John 
Ward,  Sen.,  east  by  the  plain,  west  by  the  top  of 
the  hill.  Said  tract  to  remain  for  50  acres,  allow- 
ance being  made  for  bad  land. 

John  Ward,  Sen.,  had  50  acres,  with  Thomas 
Johnson  north,  the  plain  east,  John  Catlin  south, 
the  hill  west. 

Anthony  Oliff  (or  Olive)  had  50  acres,  with  Sam- 
uel Harrison  south,  the  mountain  west,  unsurveyed 
lands  on  the  north  and  east.  This  farm  included 
on  its  northern  border  the  street  now  known  as 


ORANGE  SETTLERS.  27 

Williamsville.  It  appears,  from  the  town-book, 
that  the  owner  at  first  took  possession  of  more 
land  than  the  agreements  allowed,  confessed  his 
fault,  submitted  the  land  to  the  town's  disposal, 
and  bj  his  request  was  admitted  a  planter  in  1678. 
He  married  the  widow  of  George  Day,-;7-the  orig- 
inal of  that  name  in  Newark  and  Orange — and 
died,  without  children,  March  16,  1723,  aged  87 
years.  His  grave  has  the  oldest  headstone  in  the 
old  burial-ground.  The  owner  of  the  farm  after 
his  death  was  PeUg  Shores^  who,  on  the  23d  of 
April,  1723,  conveyed  the  eastern  and  southern 
portions  of  it  (one  equal  half )  to  Jonathan  Linds- 
ley,  the  deed  being  witnessed  by  {Rev)  Daniel  Tay- 
lor and  Mattheio  Williams.  In  1726,  the  same  was 
sold  to  David  Williams^  who,  in  1730,  purchased 
also  the  other  half. 

June  13,  1679.  Fifty-nine  acres  of  upland  were 
laid  out  for  Joseph  Harrison,  bounded  on  the  north- 
east by  Benjamin  Harrison,  and  on  the  north-west 
by  "Perroth's  brook." 

If  any  of  these  farms  were  at  this  time  under 
improvement,  they  were  scarcely  occupied  as 
homesteads  ;  for  it  was  not  till  Dec.  12,  1681,  that 
surveyors  were  chosen,  of  whom  Eichard  Harrison 
was  one,  "  to  lay  out  highways  as  far  as  the  moun- 
tain, if  need  be,  and  to  lay  out  the  third  division 
to  all  who  have  a  desire  to  have  it  laid  out,  and 
passages  to  all  lands." 


28  ORANGE  SETTLERS. 

In  March,  1685,  Paul^  George  and  Samuel  Day, 
heirs  of  George  Day,  had  surveyed  to  them  by  W. 
Camp,  surveyor,  sixty  acres,  bounded  with  the 
mountain  west,  Matthew  Williams  south.  Wigwam 
brook  east,  and  the  common  north ;  Matthew  Wil- 
liams having  been  admitted  a  planter,  with  others, 
in  1680,  "  provided  they  pay  the  purchase  for 
their  lands,  as  others  have  done."  In  January, 
1688-9,  Greorge  exchanged  lands  with  Matthew, 
the  latter  parting  with  a  dwelling-house,  shop,  or- 
chard, and  other  edifices  and  lands  near  Newark, 
and  receiving  two  tracts  at  the  mountain,  one 
bounded  east  with  Wigwam  brook,  and  the  other 
(swamp  land)  with  Parow's  brook.  The  place  to 
which  he  seems  to  have  removed  his  residence 
about  that  time  has  since  taken  the  name  of  Wil- 
liamsville,  from  his  descendants. 

By  the  will  of  Joseph  Riggs,  1688,  land  at  the 
mountain  was  given  to  his  sons,  Samuel  and  Zo- 
phar.  The  latter  is  supposed  to  have  been  the 
father  of  Joseph,  who  died  1744,  aged  69.  It  em- 
braced probably  the  farm  a  little  west  of  South 
Orange,  on  which  an  old  stone  house  yet  remains, 
in  which  Elder  Joseph  Riggs  was  born,  in  1720. 

By  warrant  of  April  27,  1694,  there  was  laid 
out  for  John  Gardner,  in  right  of  Abraham  Pier- 
son,  a  tract  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  having 
Azariah  Crane  on  the  north-east,  Jasper  Crane  on 
the  south-west. 


ORANETOWN.  29 

Azariah  Crane,  brotlier  of  Sergeant  Jasper,  and 
son-in-law  of  Capt.  Eobert  Treat,  was  a  deacon  of 
the  Newark  Churcli.  His  sons,  Azariah  and  Na- 
thaniel (father  of  William  and  Noah),  settled 
Cranetoion,  now  West  Bloomfield.  At  a  town 
meeting,  held  January  1,  1697-8,  it  was  "  voted 
that  Thomas  Hayse,  Joseph  Harrison,  Jasper 
Crane  and  ]\Iatthew  Can  field  shall  view  whether 
Azariah  Crane  may  have  land  for  a  tan-yard  at  the 
front  of  John  Plum's  home  lot,  out  of  the  common  ; 
and  in  case  the  men  above-mentioned  agree  that 
Azariah  Crane  shall  have  the  land,  then  he,  the 
said  Azariah  Crane  shall  enjoy  it  so  long  as  he 
doth  follow  the  trade  of  tanning."  As  we  learn 
from  the  Town  Book  that,  in  1715,  he  and  Ed- 
ward Ball  had  been  settled  near  the  mountain 
many  years,  we  conjecture  that  the  decision  of  the 
examiners  in  the  matter  of  the  tan-yard  was  against 
the  applicant,  and  that  it  gave  to  Cranetown  one 
of  its  first  inhabitants,  if  it  did  not  give  to  the 
Mountain  Society  one  of  its  first  deacons.  Deacon 
Crane  was  by  this  time  an  old  man.  Whether  his 
relations  were  ever  transferred  to  the  new  Society, 
may  admit  of  a  doubt. 

Nathaniel  Wheeler  obtained  a  warrant,  April  10, 
1696,  for  100  acres  at  the  mountain,  which  were 
surveyed  in  three  tracts :  one  north  of  the  high- 
way, with  John  Johnson  north,  Thomas  John- 
son and  Mr.  Ward's  lots  west ;  one  south  of  the 


30  ORANGE  SETTLERS. 

mountain-path,  witli  Eobert  Dalglesli  east,  Jasper 
Crane  south,  Harrison's  lot  west ;  the  third  on  the 
upiper  Chestnut  hill,  by  the  stone  house  brook, 
bounded  south  bj  said  brook,  west  by  Sarnucl 
Freeman  and  unsurveyed  land,  north  by  Thomas 
Luddington ;  these  several  tracts  to  lie  for  100 
acres,  because  there  was  much  barren  in  them. 
He  was  a  son  of  Thomas  "Wheeler,  of  Milford, 
where  he  was  married,  June  21,  1665,  to  Esther, 
daughter  of  Henry  Bochford.  With  his  young 
wife,  he  came  to  Newark  with  the  first  company, 
signed  the  agreement  with  the  Branford  Company, 
came  to  the  mountain,  and  lived  just  long  enough 
to  see  the  Mountain  Society  organized,  and  to  con- 
vey to  it  "  a  parcel  of  ground  for  a  burying-place," 
where  he  was  one  of  the  first  to  be  interred.  He 
died,  Oct.  4,  1726,  in  his  87th  year;  his  wife, 
March  14,  1732,  at  the  same  age. 

Samuel  Pierson,  who  was  probably  one  of  the 
first  deacons  of  the  church  here,  was  born  in  Bran- 
ford,  in  1664,  a  son  of  Thomas  Pierson,  senior,  so 
called  to  distinguish  him  from  a  son  of  Eev.  Abra- 
ham Pierson.  His  mother  was  Mary,  daughter  of 
Richard  Harrison,  Sen.,  of  Branford.  Coming  to 
Newark,  he  married  Mary  Harrison,  daughter  of 
his  uncle  Richard,  and  sister  of  Joseph,  Daniel, 
Samuel,  Benjamin,  George,  and  John  Harrison, 
and  settled  probably  in  South  Orange,  where  his 
descendants  lived.     He  was  by  trade  a  carpenter. 


ORANGE   SETTLEKS.  31 

His  children  were  Joseph,  Samuel,  James,  Daniel, 
Caleb,  Jemima,  Marj,  Hannah.  In  the  line  of 
Joseph  were  Deacons  Bethuel  and  Joseph  Pierson, 
of  the  next  two  generations.  He  (Samuel)  was 
bn^ried  in  the  old  church-yard  of  Orange,  March, 
1730,  with  an  honorable  memorial. 

Samuel  Harrison,  one  of  the  sons  of  "Richard 
just  mentioned,  owned  land  at  the  mountain,  but 
never  resided  on  it.  His  wife  was  Mary,  daughter 
of  John  Ward,  Sen.,  and  sister  of  Dorcas,  his 
brother  Joseph's  wife.  By  his  will,  dated  Jan.  7, 
1712-13,  he  gave  fifty  acres  to  his  son  Samuel, 
bounded  by  Anthony  Olive  on  the  north,  widow 
Abigail  Ward  on  the  south,  a  highway  east,  and 
the  mountain  west.  The  farm  was  improved  by 
.  the  son,  whose  descendants  are  now  numerous  in 
the  township.  He  had  another  son,  John,  who  is 
said  to  have  settled  in  Bloomfield,  and  five  daugh- 
ters, of  whom  Eleanor,  the  youngest,  wife  o£  Eben- 
ezer  Lindsley,  lived  to  the  age  of  100  years  and 
two  months.     She  was  born  about  1696. 

The  Lindsley s,  of  Orange,  are  descended  from 
Francis,  one  of  the  Newark  settlers.  In  the  old 
colony  records  of  New  Haven,  the  names  of  Fran- 
cis and  John  Linsley,  brothers,  appear  as  early  as 
1644.  The  births  of  Deborah  and  Euth,  daugh- 
ters of  Francis,  are  on  record  in  Branford.  His 
sons,  Benjamin,  John,  Jonathan,  Joseph,  Ebenezer, 
(and  probably  a  Daniel,)  were  born   in   Newark. 


32  ORANGE  SETTLERS. 

ThroTigh  Ebenezer,  Benjamin,  and  John,  we  trace 
the  line  down  to  John  M,  Lindslej,  the  oldest  liv- 
ing representative  of  the  name  in  this  locality. 
Ebenezer  died  in  Orange  in  1743,  at  the  age  of  78. 
Joseph,  at  "Whippany,  1753,  aged  77.  John,  (or 
one  of  that  name,  in  whose  will  a  brother  Daniel 
is  mentioned,)  at  Morristown,  1749,  aged  82.  Fran- 
cis, the  ancestor,  was  living  in  Kewark  in  1704, 
when  he  must  have  been  more  than  80  years  old. 
His  grave  is  not  found,  and  the  writer  is  informed 
by  Samuel  H.  Congar,  that  not  one  of  the  name 
has  a  headstone  in  the  old  burying-ground  of 
Newark. 

From  Edward  Ball  have  descended  the  Balls 
of  South  Orange,  in  the  line  of  his  son  Thomas 
and  grandson  Aaron.  From  Caleb,  another  son, 
have  sprung  the  Balls  of  Hanover.  Those  of 
East  Bloomfield  are  from  Joseph,  another  son.  A 
daughter,  Lydia,  married  Joseph  Peck,  ancestor  of 
the  Pecks  of  Orange.  There  were  two  other  chil- 
dren,— Abigail,  wife  of  Daniel  Harrison,  and  Moses, 
who  had  no  children. 

Of  the  two  Canfields,  (or  Camfields,)  who  were 
among  the  original  settlers,  Matthew  died  about 
1673,  and  Ebenezer  in  1694.  From  the  latter, 
through  his  son  Joseph,  and  his  grandson  Eben- 
ezer, who  Avas  buried  in  Orange  at  the  age  73,  have 
descended  the  Canfields  who  are  now  Avith  us. 

We  find  on  a  headstone  in  Orange,  the  name  of 


ORANGE   SETTLERS.  33 

''  the  very  pious  and  godly  Mr.  Job  Brown,  one  of 
the  pillars  of  the  church  of  Christ  in  this  place," 
who  was  born  in  1710.  The  man  whose  pious 
worth  is  thus  honorably  commemorated,  was  a 
great-grandson  of  one  of  the  first  settlers.  Though 
he  left  children  and  gTandchildren,  the  name  (though 
not  likely  to  become  extinct  in  the  world)  has  dis- 
appeared from  our  church  list.  His  ancestor,  John 
Browne,  had  a  'daughter  Hannah,  who  married 
Joseph  Riggs,  and  Elizabeth,  who  married  Samuel 
Freeman,  Both  these  names  belong  to  our  history, 
but  Ave  are  unable  to  connect  the  latter  with  an}''  of 
the  lines  that  we  have  traced  backward  among  the 
Freemans  of  a  later  day.  He  was  doubtless  an 
ancestor  of  Deacon  Samuel'  Freeman,  who  was 
another  "  pillar  of  the  church  of  Christ,"  contem- 
porary with  "  the  very  pious  and  godly  Mr.  Job 
Brown." 

The  Dodds^  now  a  numerous  race,  are  descend- 
ants of  "  Daniel  Dod,"  (from  England,)  who  died 
in  Branford  in  1661:-5.  He  and  his  wife  Mary 
having  deceased  before  the  emigration  to  New 
Jersey  took  place,  and  their  sons  being  all  minors, 
the  name  does  not  appear  among  the  subscribers 
to  the  fundamental  agreement.  Of  their  children — 
four  sons  and  two  daughters — Mary  was  the  wife 
of  Aaron  Blachthly  (or  Blatchly) ;  Daniel  had  a 
home  lot  assigned  him  in  Newark,  and  a  farm  on 
the  hill  west  of  the  town  ;   Ebenezer  was  admitted 


34  DODDTOWN. 

a  planter  (on  subscribing  the  agreement)  in  1674, 
and  Samuel  in  1679  ;  Stephen  settled  in  Guilford, 
Conn. 

"  In  March,  1678,  Daniel  Dod  and  Edward  Ball 
were  appointed  to  run  the  northern  line  of  the 
town  from  Passaic  river  to  the  mountain.  About 
this  time  Daniel  Dod  surveyed  and  had  located  to 
him  a  tract  of  land  on  and  adjoining  to  "Watsessing 
plain  [now  Bloomfield],  and  bounded  on  the  west 
and  south  by  unlocated  lands.  A  considerable 
portion  of  this  land  is  yet  in  the  possession  of  his 
descendants.  He  was  chosen  a  deputy  to  the  Pro- 
vincial Assembly  in  1692,  being  then  42  years  of 
age."*  On  this  land  his  sons  Daniel,  Stephen, 
and  John,  and  his  daughter  Dorcas,  settled, — John 
building  on  the  site  occupied  by  the  late  David 
Dodd  (and  now  by  Josiah  F.)  in  Doddtown.  In 
the  numerous  family  of  the  third  Daniel  was  our 
elder  and  deacon,  Isaac  Dodd,  whose  name  will 
appear  at  a  later  period. 

Among  the  early  accessions  to  the  Newark  col- 
ony were  John  and  Deborah  Cundit^  or  Condit. 
Their  son  Peter  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Sam- 
uel Harrison,  Sen.,  and  was  the  flither  of  Samuel, 
Peter,  John,  Nathaniel,  Philip,  Isaac  and  Mary. 
His  place  of  residence  is  not  known,  but  his  son 
John  was  probably  the  John  Cuudit  mentioned  in 

*  Records  of  Daniel  Dod  and  his  descendants,  by  Rev.  Stephen 
Dodd.     The  original  orthograpliv  was  Dod. 


ORANGE   SETTLERS.  35 

1739,  in  connection  with  John  Ward,  to  whom  the 
court  gave  license  to  keep  public-honses  at  the 
mountain.  The  Cundit  House,  kept  at  a  more  re- 
cent period  bj  Isaac  A.  Smith,  is  identified  in 
locahtj  with  the  "  Orange  Hotel,"  now  kept  by 
T.  A.  Eeeve.  The  name  belongs  to  every  period 
of  our  church  and  township. 

David  Ogden  came  to  Newark  from  Elizabeth- 
town  about  167  7.  John  Ogden — probably  his  son — 
married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  Wheeler, 
and  their  children  Avere  Hannah,  Phebe,  Jemima, 
Thomas,  Elizabeth,  Sarah,  and  Isaac. 

Joseph  Peck  appears  in  1699.  In  1719  he  was 
one  of  a  commission,  including  Deacon  Azariah 
Crane,  Joseph  and  Moses  Ball,  Joseph  Baldwin, 
and  four  others,  appointed  on  the  part  of  Newark 
to  meet  the  commisioners  of  Ackquackonong  for 
the  purpose  of  renewing  a  boundary  line.  Joseph 
Peck,  Jr.,  born  1702,  became  an  elder  and  deacon 
of  the  Orange  church.  His  son  John,  who  held 
the  same  offices,  was  father  of  Mr.  John  Peck,  one 
of  the  oldest  living  inhabitants  of  Pecktoion^  (East 
Orange,)  which  has  taken  its  name  from  the  family. 

Besides  these,  among  the  first  or  second  generation 
of  settlers,  we  find  the  names  Tichenor,  Tompkins,* 

*  Michael  Tompkins  is  supposed  by  S.  H.  Congar  to  have  been 
the  man  who  concealed  the  regicide  judges  in  Milford,  viz. :  Goflfe, 
Whalley,  and  Dixwell,  concerned  in  the  condemnation  of  King 
Charles  T.     See  the  account  in  Stearns'  Hist ,  p.  .3.5,  note. 


36  MEN   OF    MARK. 

Kitchel],  Lamson,  Nutman,  and  others,  now  found 
in  Orange.  The  Muuns  and  Smiths  have  come  in 
somewhat  later.  The  Camps,  of  Camptown,  lie 
within  or  near  the  ancient  limits  of  our  parish,  but 
the  name  is  not  a  frequent  or  prominent  one  upon 
any  of  its  records  that  now  exist. 

These  men  had  little  thought  that  a  historic  in- 
terest could  ever  attach  to  them.  Reared  among 
the  peasantry  of  England,  or  in  the  American 
wilderness  before  the  schoolmaster  was  abroad, 
they  had  simply  the  knowledge  that  is  unto  salva- 
tion, and  the  ambition  to  live  as  members  of  a 
godly  community.  Some  of  them  could  not  write 
their  names.  Thus,  in  signing  the  fundamental 
agreements,  Thomas  Lyon  made  Iiis  L  viark^  and 
John  Brooks  his  B  marlc^  and  Robert  Lymens  his 
V  marl-^  and  Francis  Linle  Ids  F  marl:^  and  Robert 
Denison  his  R  marl^:.  Yet  did  these  same  illiterate 
men  make  their  mark  also  upon  the  institutions  of 
New  Jersey,  impressing  upon  them  a  character 
they  were  never  to  lose.  And  they  were  the  stock 
whence  others  have  sprung,  who  have  adorned  the 
highest  stations.  They  brought  with  them  the 
energy  of  the  Anglo-Saxon,  and  the  somewhat 
rigorous  yet  vigorous  and  stable  religious  princi- 
ples of  the  Puritan.  Entering  the  forest  with  bold 
hearts,  they  placed  tlie  rude  cabin  b}'  the  side  of 
the  wigwam,  and  made  the  woods  vocal  at  once 
with  praise  to  God  and  with  the  sounds  of  civilized 


indiajSts  peaceable.  oi 

industry.  While  the  institutions  of  Penn  were 
spreading  and  taking  form  in  the  bordering  prov- 
ince, and  those  of  English  Episcopacy  in  Vir- 
ginia ;  while  Eliot,  "  the  morning  star  of  missionary 
enterprise,"*  was  giving  the  Bible  to  the  jVIas- 
sachusetts  Indians ;  while  the  Pohanokets,  under 
King  Philip,  were  spreading  terror  through  settle- 
ments around  which  they  hung  "  like  tlie  lightning 
on  the  edge  of  the  clouds  ;"■!*  while  Cotton  Mather, 
with  a  cruel  zeal  for  the  Lord,  was  exterminating 
witchcraft  from  his  parish  at  Salem ;  the  Newark 
colonists,  intermingling  with  the  peaceful  Hackin- 
sacks,  whose  rights  they  treated  with  justice  and 
respect,  were  quietly  engaged  in  felling  the  forest, 
breaking  up  the  generous  soil,  building  mills,  dig- 
ging mines,  exterminating  the  bear  and  the  wolf; 
or,  as  often  as  the  Sabbath  came,  assembling  de- 
voutly at  the  beat  of  the  drum  in  their  rude  but 
honored  sanctuary. 

To  the  peaceable  temper  of  the  Indians  we  have 
this  testimony  from  the  Council  of  Proprietors  at 
a  later  period :  "  'We  are  well  assured  that,  since 
the  first  settlement  of  New  Jersey,  there  is  not  one 
instance  can  be  assigned  of  any  breach  of  peace 
with  the  Indians  thereof  (though  very  few  of  the 
other  provinces  can  say  so  as  to  their  Indians) ; 
nor  that  any  pro[)rietor  ever  presumed  to  dispos- 
sess one  of  them,  or  disturb  him  in  his  possession  ; 

•  Bancroft.  t  Wnshiiisjton  Irving'. 

3 


38  BEARS   AND  WOLVES. 

but  have  always  amicably  paid  tbem  for  their 
claims,  from  time  to  time,  as  they  could  agree  with 
them  ;  nor  was  the  Crown,  nor  the  Legislature  of 
the  province  of  New  Jersey,  now  for  fourscore 
years  past,  since  the  settlement  of  this  province, 
ever  jmt  to  one  penny  of  charge  or  expense  for 
keeping  the  Indians  thereof  in  peace,  in  bounties, 
presents,  or  otherwise ;  which  is  well  known  to  be 
far  otherwise  in  other  provinces,  and  may,  and 
probably  will  soou  be,  otherwise  here,  if  some  late 
tamperings  with  the  Indians  thereof  be  neglected 
and  passed  over  with  impunity."* 

The  bears  and  wolves,  especially  the  latter,  in 
the  township  of  Newark,  were  more  troublesome. 
From  their  ramparts  in  the  mountains  they  would 
listen  to  no  terms  of  negotiation.  A  peace  with 
them  had  to  be  conquered  by  stratagem  or  prowess. 
And  many  a  bounty,  as  tempting  to  the  poor  colo- 
nist as  the  excitement  of  the  hunt,  had  to  bo 
offered.  Repeatedly,  for  a  considerable  period,  avc 
meet  with  such  votes  ns  the  following,  in  the  min- 
utes of  the  town  nieeting:  "September  6,  1698. 
It  is  agreed  upon  by  vote,  for  the  encouragement 
of  those  that  will  kill  wolves,  that  they  shall  have 
twenty  shillings  per  head  allowed  them  in  a  town 
rate  for  this  year."  Four  years  later,  the-  bounty 
offered  was  twelve  shillings.     This  for  a  full-grown 

*  Pnblionlion  of  25tli  Marcli,  1140 


BOUNTIES.  89 

wolf;  for  a  bear  cub,  five  shillings.  But  tbe  beast 
must  be  caught  and  killed  within  the  limits  of  the 
town  to  secure  the  bounty.  Sergeant  Riggs,  who 
had  charge  of  a  wolf  pit,  seems  to  have  directed 
his  soldierly  art  and  courage  to  this  species  of  war- 
fare, as  the  mighty  jSTimrod  did  long  before  him. 
The  wolf,  being  captured,  was  taken  to  "a  magis- 
trate, who  took  his  ears  to  witness  to  the  transac- 
tion, and  gave  to  the  captor,  in  return,  a  receipt  that 
passed  for  the  value  of  the  specified  bounty  with 
the  tax-collector.  The  town  had  one  expedient 
for  the  relief  of  such  as  were  out  of  purse,  which 
Governor  Carteret  had  not,  perhaps,  thought  of, 
when  he  answered  the  objections  originally  inade 
to  the  halfpenny  quit-rent  by  saying  :  "  As  for  the 
purchasers  being  out  of  purse,  I  cannot  help  them 
therein." 

A  certain  Scotchman,  James  Johnstone,  writing 
to  his  friends  at  home,  said  the  wolves  "  are  nothing 
to  be  feared,  neither  are  the  country  people  afraid 
to  be  among  them  all  night,  insomuch  that  I  oft- 
times  going  wrong,  and  lying  out  all  night,  and 
hearing  their  yells  about  me,  and  telling  that  I  was 
afraid  of  them,  the  country  people  laughed  at  it."* 
The  snakes    were    still  less    to  be   feared,    "for 

^"  Quoted  with  references,  by  Stearns,  p.  '79.  In  1682,  a  double 
bounty  was  offered  for  wolves,  15  shillings  being  paid  by  the 
county,  and  15  by  the  town.  "  In  1695,  these  bounties  were  re- 
pealed, and  it  was  left  to  the  discretion  of  each  ^wn  to  adopt 


40  HOUSES. 

nothing  can  come  near  them  but  they  give  warn- 
ing with  the  ratthng  of  their  tails,  so  that  people 
may  either  kill  them  or  go  by  them,  as  they 
please."  What  influence  these  assurances  had  to 
bring  over  the  water  any  of  the  "kith  and  kin  "  of 
the  worthy  Scot,  we  know  not.  There  was  a  con- 
siderable infusion  of  Scotch  into  the  Newark  settle- 
ment before  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
The  style  of  the  Jersey  houses  of  that  day  is 
thus  described  by  Gawen  Lawrie,  writing  to  a 
friend  in  London :  "  A  carpenter,  with  a  man's 
own  servants,  builds  a  house.  They  have  all  ma- 
terials for  nothing,  except  nails.  The  poorer  sort 
set  up  a  house  of  two  or  three  rooms  after  this 
manner:  The  walls  are  of  cloven  timber,  about 
eight  or  ten  inches  broad,  like  planks,  set  one  end 
to  the  ground,  and  the  other  nailed  to  the  raising, 
which  they  plaster  within."  At  Ambo}^,  where  a 
great  city  was  to  be  built,  a  beginning  was  made 
by  Samuel  Groome  in  the  erection  of  three  houses, 
in  1683,  which  were  thus  described  by  him  :  "  The 
houses  at  Amboy  are  thirty  feet  long,  and  sixteen 
feet  wide;  ten  feet  between  joint  and  joint  ;  a 
double  chimne}^,  made  with  timber  and  clay,  as 

such  measures  as  might  be  necessary  to  exterminate  the  wolves. 
General  legislation,  however,  was  again  resorted  to,  in  JIarch, 
1714,  and  the  bounty  was  extended  to  panthers  and  red  foxes." 
In  1730,  tliat  on  foxes  was  withdrawn.  In  1751,  the  bounty  was 
"  sixty  shillings  for  wolves,  and  ten  shillings  for  whelps."  Barber 
find  Howe's  Hist.  Collect.  (1S44),  p.  40, 


SELF-GOVERNMENT.  41 

tlie  manner  of  the  country  is  to  build."  Such  edi- 
fices "  will  stand  in  about  £50  a  house."*  These 
were  doubtless  a  fliir  type  of  the  homes  of  the 
wealthier  class. 

The  capacity  of  the  Newark  community  for  self- 
government  was  early  tested.  "  Will  you  know," 
inquires  Bancroft,  "  with  how  little  government  a 
community  of  husbandmen  may  be  safe  ?  For 
twelve  years  the  whole  province  was  not  in  a  set- 
tled condition.  From  June,  1689,  to  August, 
1692,  East  Jersey  had  no  government  whatever." 
The  maintenance  of  order,  during  this  period, 
rested  wholly  with  the  local  authorities  and  with 
the  people  themselves.  A  town  meeting  was  ac- 
cordingly convened,  March  25,  1689-90,  to  pro- 
vide for  the  exigency,  Hamilton,  the  deputy-Gov- 
ernor, having  left  for  Europe  the  preceding  August. 
It  was  "Voted,  that  there  shall  be  a  committee 
chosen  to  order  all  affairs,  in  as  prudent  a  way  as 
they  can,  for  the  safety  and  preservation  of  our- 
selves, wives,  children  and  estates,  according  to 
the  capacity  we  are  in."  The  committee  consisted 
of  Mr.  Ward,  Mr.  Johnson,  Azariah  Crane,  Wil- 
liam Camp,  Edward  Ball  and  John  Brown,  "  with 
those  in  military  capacity."  It  was  well  for  the 
little  commonwealth,  in  those  times  of  disorder, 
that  they  were  qualified,  not  only  for  "the  carry- 

"  Smith's  New  Jersey  ;  Steams,  p.  30. 


42  END   OF   PliOPRIETARY   RULE. 

irig  on  of  spiritual  concernments,"  but  also  for  the 
regulation  of  "  civil  and  town  affairs,  according  to 
Ood  and  a  godly  government. ^^  It  was  not  simply 
that  they  were  a  community  of  husbandmen,  as  inti- 
mated by  the  historian,  that  made  them  safe  with- 
out the  protection  of  provincial  laws  ;  they  had  a 
higher  law,  a  more  imperative  rule  of  action,  writ- 
ten upon  ilie  heart. 

The  breaking  up  of  the  Proprietary  government 
took  place  during  the  war  between  England  and 
Holland,  when  the  Dutch  took  forcible  possession 
of  the  province.  On  the  return  of  peace,  the  Pro- 
prietors were  reinstated  with  new  powers.  Pro- 
fessing still  to  adhere  to  the  original  Concessions, 
they  published  a  "  declaration  of  their  true  intent 
and  meaning,"  which  was  really  a  declaration,  in 
some  essential  points,  of  things  not  intended  and 
meant.  The  people  saw  in  it  a  breach  of  the  Con- 
cessions, and  a  dangerous  abridgment  of  their  priv- 
ileges. And  the  seeds  of  discontent,  thus  rashly 
sown  by  the  Proprietors,  rapidly  ripened  to  such 
power,  that  they  were  constrained,  in  1702,  to  sur- 
render the  reins  of  government  to  the  British 
crown.  Tyranny,  acting  in  obedience  to  avarice, 
defeated  its  own  end.  Nor  did  the  effect  stop  here. 
The  wave  set  in  motion  by  the  popular  reaction 
rolled  on  with  accumulating  force,  and  having  first 
stripped  the  Proprietors  of  their  governmental 
functions,  broke  down  at  last  their  gigantic  and 


HORSENECK   PUllCHASE.  43 

odioas  monopolj^  of  the  soil.  This  was,  however, 
the  work  of  three-quarters  of  a  century.  The  Last 
and  effective  sweep  of  quit-rents  and  proprietary 
exactions  was  made  by  the  American  revolution. 

About  this  time  was  made  another  extensive 
purchase  of  Indian  lands.  The  tide  of  population, 
setting  back  from  the  coast,  had  reached  the  moun- 
tain. It  was  now  to  break  over,  and  carry  its 
freight  of  civilization  still  farther  into  the  interior. 
Preliminary  action  was  taken  at  a  town  meeting, 
Oct.  2,  1699.  "  It  was  agreed,  by  the  generality 
of  the  town,  that  they  would  endeavor  to  make  a 
purchase  of  a  tract  of  land  lying  westward  of  our 
bounds  to  the  south  branch  of  Passaic  river  ;  and 
such  of  the  town  as  do  contribute  to  the  purchase 
of  said  land,  shall  have  their  proportion  according 
to  their  contribution."  Mr.  Pierson  and  Ensign 
Johnson  w^ere  chosen  to  go  and  treat  with  the  Pro- 
prietors about  obtaining  a  grant.  Samuel  Harri- 
son, George  Harrison,  Thomas  Davis,  Eobert 
Young,  Daniel  Dod,  Nathaniel  Ward  and  John 
Cooper  were  a  committee  to  consider  and  put  for- 
ward the  design.  On  the  3d  of  Sept.,  1701,  cer- 
tain ^'■articles  of  agreement''''  touching  the  matter 
were  adopted  and  subscribed  by  one  hundred  prin- 
cipal men  of  the  town,  and  one  woman,  each  sub- 
scriber designating  the  number  of  lots  he  would 
take.  These  were  subsequently  known  as  the 
"Articles   of  the   First   Committee."      Mr.   John 


44  ITS   LEGALITY. 

Treat,  Mr.  Joseph  Crane,  Joseph  Harrison,  George 
Harrison,  Eliphalet  Johnson,  John  Morris  and 
John  Cooper,  were  now  appointed,  with  full  power 
to  "  treat,  bargain  and  agree  with  such  Indians  as 
they  find  to  be  the  right  owners  thereof  bv  their 
diligent  enquiry" — the  major  part  of  the  commit- 
tee to  have  full  power  to  act.*  It  is  a  circumstance 
not  ea==ily  explained,  that  we  find  in  these  articles 
no  reference  to  the  Proprietors,  while  the  fourth 
article  declares  that  "  the  said  land,  purchased  and 
paid  for  by  us,  shall  be  held  and  continued  as  our 
just  rights,  either  in  general  or  particular  allot- 
ments, as  the  major  part  shall  agree  from  time  to 
time."  As,  however,  an  act  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly of  the  province,  passed  in  1683,  was  still  in 
force,  forbidding  the  taking  of  any  deed  from  the 
Indians,  except  in  the  Proprietors'  name ;  and  as  the 
inhabitants  of  Newark,  down  to  the  dafe  of  this  new 
purchase,  had  maintained  an  unimpeachable  loy- 
alty to  the  Provincial  government ;  especially,  as 
they  had  but  two  years  before  sent  a  committee  to 
the  Proprietors  to  obtain  a  grant  of  this  very  tract ; 
the  presumption  is,  that  they  obtained  the  grant, 
and  that  this  important  accession  to  their  territory 

^  The  tract  was  secured  for  £130,  and  a  deed  obtained  of  the 
Indians.  This  important  deed  was  destroyed  by  tire,  March  7, 
1744-5,  in  the  burning  of  Jonathan  Pierson's  house.  It  was 
promptly  renewed  within  a  week,  so  far  as  it  could  be,  by  another 
conveyance,  to  which  Daniel  Taylor  was  a  witness,  signed  by  the 
desceudanto  of  the  sagamores  who  had  .signed  the  first. 


ITS    LEGALITY.  45 

was  made  iu  a  way  that  satisfied  at  once  the  rights 
of  the  natives  and  the  claims  of  authority.*  The 
bonds  of  loyalty  had  not  yet  snapped  under  the 
strain  of  oj)pression.  It  needed  the  administration 
of  a  Cornbury,  and  the  attempt  to  subject  the  Puri- 
tans of  New  Jersey  to  an  ecclesiastical"  establish- 
ment from  which  their  fathers  had  fled,  to  give 
vitality  to  those  seeds  of  discontent  which  had 
already  been  planted,  and  which  were  to  ripen 
with  the  gTOwth  of  another  generation. 

*  Yet  the  account  given  of  this  period  by  tlie  Council  of  Pro- 
prietors, in  1747,  bears  certainly  against  that  presumption.  It 
runs  thus:  "In  1688,  the  then  king,  James,  broke  through  the 
rules  of  property,  by  seizing  the  government  of  New  Jersey,  and 
things  continued  in  disorder  and  confusion  till  some  time  after  the 
glorious  revolution  in  England,  that  the  Proprietors'  government 
was  restored ;  from  which  time,  peace  and  tranquillity  remained 
until  1698.  From  that  time  till  1703,  all  rules  of  property  were 
slighted ;  many  riots,  and  much  disorder  and  confusion  ensued* 
In  1701,  during  that  time,  it's  said  that  Horseneck  purchase  and 
Yangeesen's  purchase  were  made,  and  possibly  the  others  that  they, 
the  Committee,  say  they  have  concern  in  and  for.  And  then  was 
a  grand  effort  made,  by  the  Remonstrance  and  Petition  before- 
mentioned,  to  King  William,  to  oyerset  all  the  rules  of  property 
in  New  Jersey,  and  to  establish  Indian  purchases  ;  but  in  this 
they  failed,  and  kept  their  purchases  secret.  And  to  prevent  the 
like  disorder,  confusion  and  attempts  for  the  future,  the  Act  of 
1703  was  made,  and  peace  and  tranquUlity  restored  ;  which  New 
Jersey  ever  since  happily  enjoyed,  to  the  great  improvement 
thereof;  tiU  174-5,  that  the  worthy  Committee,  as  is  supposed, 
formed  great  plans  and  estates  for  themselves  in  their  own  minds, 
by  setting  up  Indian  purchases  again." — Appendix  to  Bill  in  Chan- 
cerv,  p.  37. 

3* 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    MOUNTAIN     SOCIETY. 

FIFTY  years  have  passed.  The  venerable  Pier- 
son,  leader  of  the  Branford  flock,  has  long  rested 
from  his  labors.  His  son  and  successor,  more  dis- 
tinguished as  the  first  president  of  the  Connecticut 
college,  to  which  he  was  removed  from  his  Newark 
charge,  has  also  finished  his  course.  The  pioneers 
in  the  settlement  on  the  Passaic  sleej)  in  silence 
within  sound  of  its  waters.  A  generation  has 
passed  away.  Five  pastors  have  closed  their  min- 
istry in  Newark.  The  aspects  of  the  congregation, 
and  its  relations  and  circumstances,  have  consider- 
ably changed.  It  adheres  to  its  early  fliith,  but  it 
has  felt  the  force  of  surrounding  influences  upon 
its  ecclesiastical  usages  and  forms.  New  Jersey, 
except  as  held  by  the  Quakers,  is  in  the  main  Pres- 
byterian ground,  and  the  Newark  church,  jdelding 
to  the  influences  of  its  position,  and  having  received 
a  considerable  infusion  of  Presbyterian  elements 
from  abroad,  has  received  its  sixth  pastor,  Eev. 
Joseph  Webb,  from^  "the  hands  of  the  Presbytery." 
The  statement  of  Dr.  McWhortcr,  quoted  by  Dr. 


CHANGES   IN    NEWAKK.  47 

Hodge,*  that  Newark  was  settled  by  English  Pres- 
byterians, and  had  elders  from  the  beginning,  ac- 
cording to  his  best  information  and  belief,  is  dis- 
proved by  well-established  facts.  At  the  same  time 
we  must  agree  with  Dr.  Hodge,  that  on  the  soil  of 
New  Jersey  at  large  Presbyterianism  hjis  not  in- 
vaded and  supplanted  Congregationalism.  It  was 
the  earlier  and  predominant  type  of  ecclesiastical 
order,  and  naturally  absorbed  and  assimilated  the 
Congregationalism  that  came  in.  This  assimilation 
Avas  not,  however,  without  a  struggle  between  the  two 
systems,  and  in  a  community  like  that  of  Newark, 
originally  composed  of  Congregationalists  only,  the 
process  of  change  was  necessarily  slow.  When  the 
second  Pierson  manifested  some  leanings  toward 
the  Presbyterian  order,  the  displeasure  of  his  peo- 
ple was  excited,  and  troubles  arose  which  resulted 
in  his  dismissal.  Yet  on  the  22d  of  October,  1719, 
Joseph  Webb,  in  the  line  of  his  successors,  was  or- 
dained and  settled  over  the  same  flock  by  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Philadelphia,  and  the  next  year  took  a 
seat  in  the  Synod  with  a  ruling  elder  from  his 
church. 

Did  that  event  precipitate  an  Independent  or- 
ganization at  the  mountain?  A  comparison  of 
dates  will  make  the  supposition  appear  at  least 
probable. 

The  records  of  the  Newark  Church,  and  those  of 

"''  Hist.  Pres.  Church,  part  I.,  p.  108. 


48  CHURCH   AT  THE   MOUNTAIN. 

this  church  also  (it  is  said),  perished  or  were  lost  in 
the  time  of  the  Revolution.  But  in  a  parcel  of  old 
deeds  and  other  papers  preserved  by  the  Trustees 
of  this  church,  is  a  deed  of  twenty  acres  of  land 
sold  by  Thomas  Gardner  to  "  Samuel  Freeman, 
Samuel  Peirson,  Matthew  Williams,  and  Samuel 
Wheeler,  and  the  Society  at  the  Mountain  associated 
with  them,"  which  bears  date,  January  13,  1719. 
As  the  year  then  began  on  the  25th  of  March, 
January  followed  October  in  the  calendar.  The 
deed  was  therefore  given  about  three  months  after 
Mr.  Webb's  ordination  and  settlement  in  Newark. 
This  coincidence,  taken  in  connection  with  the 
previous  history  of  the  old  Society,  and  with  the 
well-established  fact  of  the  Congregational  form  of 
this  Church  till  after  the  death  of  its  first  minister, 
affords  presumptive  evidence  of  the  opinion  ex- 
pressed above,  that  the  change  which  took  place  in 
Newark  stimulated  the  new  movement  here. 

In  1720,  ground  was  purchased  of  Samuel 
Wheeler  on  which  to  erect  a  house  of  worship. 
This  again  favors  the  supposition  of  a  recent  or- 
ganization. Dr.  Stearns  places  the  event  "in  or 
about  the  year  1718."*  A  congregation  was  doubt- 
less collected  here  by  that  time.  Yet  it  seems 
scarcely  probable  that  the  Church  had  existed  two 
years  before  steps  were  taken  to  build  a  sanctuary. 
With  such  light  as  the  subject  obtains  from  the 
*  On  the  authority  of  Dr.  ilcWhorter. 


PARSOJSTAGE   LAND.  49 

facts  above  given,  we  incline  to  the  opinion  that 
the  Society  took  organic  form  sometime  during  the 
year  1719. 

Among  tlie  inducements  hekl  out  to  the  settlers 
by  the  Proprietors  of  East  Jersey,  was  the  offer  of 
two  hundred  acres  of  land  for  the  support  of  public 
worship  in  each  parish.  A  warrant  for  the  survey 
•of  200  acres  and  meadow  for  a  parsonage  was 
granted  to  the  Newark  settlers  October  23,  1676. 
The  actual  survey,  however,  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  made  till  twenty  years  later,  April  10, 
1696,  when,  besides  the  tw^o  hundred  thus  appro- 
priated, three  acres  were  assigned  for  a  burial-place, 
three  for  a  market-place,  and  sis  for  a  training- 
place,  the  last  being  on  the  present  site  of  the  First 
Park  in  Newark.  We  shall  have  occasion  hereafter 
to  notice  the  contentions  to  which  these  parsonage 
lands  gave  rise,  and  the  measures  adopted  from 
time  to  time  to  protect  them  from  plunder.  How 
soon  the  Mountain  Society- set  up  its  claim  to  a 
portion  of  them  we  do  not  know.  Such  a  claim 
was  very  likely  to  have  been  among  the  first 
thoughts  of  the  new  congregation. 

However  this  may  be,  the  mountaineers  were  not 
indifferent  to  their  supposed  duty  of  making  per- 
manent provision  for  the  ministry.  Their  first  act 
as  an  ecclesiastical  body,  of  which  we  have  any 
knowledge,  was  the  buying  of  land  for  the  minis- 
ter's use.     They  were  manifestly  unwilling  to  leave 


60  'rilE   GAEDNER   PUKCUASE. 

SO  important  a  matter  to  any  issues  connected  with 
their  rights  in  the  property  of  the  Old  Society. 

The  land  jiurchased  of  Thomas  Gardner  in  1719, 
being  "  the  sixth  year  of  the  reign  of  our  sover- 
eign Lord,  George,  by  the  grace  of  God,  of  Great 
Britain,  France  and  Ireland  King,  defender  of  the 
faith,"  &c.,  the  deed  informs  us  was  sold  "  for  divers 
good  causes  and  considerations,  me  thereunto  mov- 
ing, but  more  especially  for  and  in  consideration  of 
the  sum  of  £25  current  money  of  New  York." 
It  was  "  to  be  and  remain  for  the  use  and  benefit 
of  a  dissenting*  ministry,  such  as  shall  be  called 
to  that  work  by  the  grantees  before-named,  and 
their  associates  from  time  to  time."  It  is  described 
as  "  scituate,  lying  and  being  in  the  bounds  and 
limits  of  Newark  aforesaid,  on  the  east  side  of  a 

*  So  called  by  English  usage  till  the  colonies  became  iudcpeud- 
ent.  The  Puritans  in  America  were  in  no  just  sense  dissenters. 
They  secured  here  that  "  freedom  to  worship  God  "  for  which  they 
left  the  fatherland.  In  New  Jersey,  religious  Uberty  was  explicitly 
guaranteed  by  the  Proprietors.  When  the  latter,  in  1702,  surren- 
ered  their  civil  jurisdiction  to  the  crown,  an  attempt  was  made 
by  Lord  Cornbury,  the  governor,  to  subject  the  people  to  the  forms 
of  the  Church  of  England.  "  The  Prayer  Book  was  ordered  to  bo 
read,  the  sacraments  to  be  administered  only  by  persons  episco- 
pally  ordained  ;  and  all  ministers,  without  ordination  of  that  sort, 
were  required  to  report  themselves  to  the  Eishop  of  London.  A 
bill  for  the  maintenance  of  the  Church  in  the  Jerseys  was  defeated 
solely  through  the  unflinching  perseverance  of  a  Baptist  and  a 
Quaker— Richard  Hartshorno  and  Andrew  Browne."  "Webster's 
Hist.  Pres.  Church.,  p.  88. 


FIRST   MEETING-HOUSE,  51 

brook  commonly  called  and  known  by  the  name  of 
Parow's  Brook.*  Beginning  at  said  brook  near  a 
bridge  by  tlie  road  tliat  leads  to  the  mountain, 
thence  running  easterly  as  the  road  runs,  so  far  as 
that  a  south-westerly  line  cross  the  said  lot  (it  being 
twelve  chains  in  breadth)  shall  include  twenty  acres 
of  land,  English  measure  :  bounded  southerly  with 
Joseph  Harrison,  westerly  with  said  Parow's  Brook, 
northerly  with  said  mountain  road,  and  easterly 
with  my  own  land."  This  locates  it  east  of  the 
Willow  Hall  Market,  south  of,  and  including,  the 
present  park. 

A  meeting-house  Avas  the  next  demand.  This 
was  the  central  object  of  interest  in  every  commu- 
nity of  the  Puritans.f  If  no  D  wight  had  ever 
composed  for  their  use  the  precious  hymn — 

"  I  love  thy  kingdom,  Lord, 
The  house  of  thine  abode," 

they  were  quite  familiar  with  the  inspired  original 

*  Named  from  Perro,  one  of  the  Indians  who  negotiated  in  the 
sale  of  the  lands.  See  Robert  Treat's  testunony,  Bill  in  Chancery, 
p.  118. 

t  A  joint  letter  sent  in  1684  to  the  Proprietors  in  Scotland,  by 
David  Barclay,  Arthur  Forbes,  and  Gawen  Laurie,  says :  ' '  The 
people  being  mostly  New  England  men,  do  mostly  incline  to  their 
way ;  and  in  every  toicn  there  is  a  meeting-house,  where  they  worship 
publicly  every  week.  They  have  no  public  law  in  the  country  for 
maintaining  pubUc  teachers,  but  the  towns  that  have  them  make 
way  within  themselves  to  maintain  them."     Stearns,  p.  78. 


52  THE  BUILDERS. 

from  which  its  touching  sentiments  were  drawn, 
"  If  I  forget  thee,  0  Jerusalem,  let  my  right  hand 
forget  her  cunning" — were  words  that  echoed  the 
warmest  feelings  of  many  a  settler's  bosom. 

If  the  reader  has  ever  worshipped  in  any  of  the 
primitive  sanctuaries  of  the  far  West  or  South,  he 
will  have  no  difiiculty  in  limning  for  himself  a 
pretty  correct  portrait  of  the  rude  and  lowly  edi- 
fice. The  site  selected  for  it  was  on  the  highway 
leading  to  the  mountain,  a  few  rods  cast  from  where 
the  First  Church  now  stands.  Time  has  not  spared 
for  us  the  name  of  the  architect  and  the  particulars 
oi"  the  contract,  as  it  has  of  the  sanctuaries  since 
built  on  nearly  the  same  spot. 

The  town  records  of  Newark,  though  occupied 
much  with  ecclesiastical  matters,  have  nothing  to 
say  of  the  Mountain  Society.  They  are  indeed 
silent  upon  the  building  of  the  second  house  of 
worship  in  Newark,  which  is  supposed  to  have 
been  erected  between  April,  1714,  and  August,  1716, 
where  a  vacancy  in  the  records  occurs.  Had  we 
the  details  of  that  work,  which  took  place  just 
before  the  Society  here  was  formed,  we  might 
obtain  some  probable  clew  to  the  men  engaged 
upon  the  building  here. 

The  mountain  congregation,  however,  were  not 
entirely  dependent  upon  the  Bezaleels  and  Hirams 
of  the  old  Society. 

Samuel  Pierson  was  a  carjienter,  and  his  sons 


HANDS  THAT   HELPED.  63 

Joseph,  Samuel,  James,  Daniel,  and  Caleb, — all  of 
them  now  arrived  at  manhood,  for  the  father  was 
fifty-six  years  old — must  have  had  some  knowl- 
edge of  the  trade.  He  was  a  good  man,  who  had 
a  care  for  the  spiritual^  as  well  as  for  the  material 
edifice,  as  appears  from  the  testimonial  placed  upon 
his  headstone  ten  years  afterward.  We  surmise 
that  the  holy  structure  went  up  under  his  superin- 
tendence, though  the  use  of  the  broad-axe,  the 
saw,  and  the  auger,  may  have  been  left  to  younger 
hands.  Doubtless  there  were  others  of  the  craft 
connected  with  the  work.  Many  a  right  hand  lent 
its  cunning.  And  many  a  rough  hand,  accustomed 
more  to  the  labors  of  forest  and  field  than  to  those  of 
the  carpenter's  bench,  lent  to  the  enterprise  its  manly 
strength.  Samuel  Harrison's  saw-mill,  which  did 
good  service  for  the  parsonage  twenty-eight  years 
later,  was  not  yet  in  operation,  and  planing-mills, 
sash-and-blind  factories  and  the  like,  were  institu- 
tions still  more  distant  in  the  future.  But  our  men 
of  the  wilderness  were  men  trained  to  expedients. 
The  want  and  the  will  brought  the  ways  and  the 
means.  One  by  one,  the  straight  shafts  of  the 
forest  fell  before  the  axe  and  were  fitted  to  their 
places.  From  week  to  week  the  progress  of  the 
meeting-house  Avas  a  principal  topic  of  conversation, 
and  when  at  last,  on  a  little  knoll  in  the  midst  of 
the  travelled  road,  which  on  either  side  retired  like 
the  parting  Jordan  making  way  for  the  Ark,  the 


64  HOLY  JOYS. 

completed  sanctuary  was  seen,  we  can  imagine  with 
wliat  care  every  domestic  duty  and  labor  of  the 
field  were  so  arranged  that  the  future  worshippers 
might  join  in  the  act  of  its  solemn  dedication  to 
the  worship  of  God. 

"We  have  not  the  programme  of  that  solemnly 
glad  occasion.  Who  offered  the  prayer,  who 
preached  the  sermon,  who  read  the  psalm,  who  led 
the  congregation  in  their  hearty  song  of  thanks- 
giving, were  then  matters  of  interest;  but  tHey 
have  ceased  to  be  matters  even  of  traditional  re- 
membrance. A  ''beam  out  of  the  timber"  yet 
remains  of  the  ancient  edifice,  but  it  is  silent  when 
questioned  relative  to  the  persons  and  scenes  of 
that  distant  day.*  It  is  probable  that  Mr.  Webb, 
of  the  old  Society,  was  among  the  ministers  pres- 
ent ;  for  tender  ties  yet  existed  between  him  and 
the  separating  portion  of  his  flock ;  while  eccle- 
siastical ties  may  have  brought  from  Connecti- 
cut or  Long  Island  some  prominent  Independent 
minister  to  take  the  leading  part  of  the  service.f 

*  This  relic  of  the  first  meeting-house  is  in  tlie  frame  of  Mr. 
Charles  Harrison's  barn,  in  Valley  street.  It  is  a  heavy  cross- 
beam, of  white  oak,  worked  down  a  little  from  its  original  size, 
and  having  a  line  of  mortises  for  studs.  The  post  that  supports  it 
at  the  oast  end  was  also  a  post  in  the  old  meeting-house.  The 
barn,  or  that  part  of  it,  was  built  by  Samuel  Harrison.  The  beam 
has  answered  one  inquiry  of  tlio  writer,  viz. :  that  the  meeting- 
house was  framed,  not  a  lug  home. 

t  According  to  a  letter  written  March,  1729,  by  Rev.  Jedediah 


THE   CONGEEGATION.  55 

This  supposition  is  tlie  more  likely,  if  Daniel  Tay- 
lor was  at  this  time  pastor,  of  which  there  is  room 
for  doubt. 

It  is  more  easy  to  guess  who  were  some  of  those 
who  occupied  the  pews.  There  was  seen,  if  not 
too  infirm  to  attend,  the  hoary  head  of  Anthony 
Oliff,  probably  the  oldest  man  in  the  society,  a 
patriarch  in  years  though  not  a  father.  We  have 
in  our  thoughts  a  figure  of  the  eccentric  old  man, 
now  about  fourscore  and  five  years  old,  and  per- 
mitted to  sit  a  few  times  in  the  new  meeting-house 
before  he  was  "  in  the  church-yard  laid."  There 
was  Nathaniel  Wheeler,  who  had  also  numbered 
his  fourscore  years  ;  Matthew  Williams,  aged  about 
seventy ;  and  probably  Azariah  Crane,  a  veteran, 
of  seventy-four.  Around  these  aged  men  were 
others  somewhat  younger,  in  the  midst  of  family 
groups  that  shared  the  joys  and  hopes  inspired  by 
the  occasion.  Arranged  in  their  square  pews,  the 
more  aged  sat  with  their  faces  pulpitward,  their 
eyes  reverently  fixed  upon  the  preacher.  The 
smaller  ones  were  seated  opposite,  while  on  the 
right  and  left  were  youths  and  maidens  in  a  side- 
wise  position,  suggestive  of  a  state  of  mind  that 
lent  one  ear  to  the  sermon  and  another  to  whatever 
was  passing  in  the  rear  of  the  house.     High  up  in 

Andrews,  of  Philadelphia,  referred  to  by  Richard  Webster,  (p.  583,) 
this  was  the  only  church  in  the  Province  at  that  date  which  did 
not  conform  to  the  Presbyterian  mode. 


56  STYLE   OF   WOKSHir. 

a  little  pulpit,  with  sounding-board  above,  sat  the 
minister  of  the  day.  And  in  his  place,  a  person- 
age not  to  be  overlooked,  stood  the  jjrecentor^  to 
line  out  the  psalm  which  the  minister  had  read,  and 
lead  the  congregation  in  the  solemn  service  of  song. 
Some  recollections  of  the  meeting-house  arrange- 
ments, and  the  style  of  worship  pertaining  to  tliat 
remote  period,  yet  remain  in  the  minds  of  elderly 
people.  Time  has  since  brought  with  it  many 
modifications  in  matters  not  affecting  the  spirit  and 
benefit  of  religious  worship.* 

The  old  Society  in  Newark  had  built  its  first 
meeting-house  amid  the  alarms  created  by  Indian 
atrocities  in  New  England,  where  Philip's  war  was 
at  that  time  raging.  The  men  who  had  worked 
upon  it  had  their  arms  ever  at  hand,  and  the  walls 
of  the  house,  "filled  up  with  thin  stone  and  mor- 
tar as  high  as  the  girts,"  were  for  walls  of  protec- 
tion in  case  of  an  attack.     But  those  days  of  terror 

*  "We  are  not  sure  but  one  change  has  affected  the  spirit  and 
true  effect  of  pubhc  worship.  While  the  introduction  of  hymn 
books  has  obviated  the  necessity  of  reading  tlic  hymn  by  couplets 
the  introduction  of  choirs  has  almost  set  aside  the  hymn  book,  or 
its  appropriate  use  by  the  congregation.  There  are  exceptions  to 
the  statement,  wliich  are  happily  increasing  in  number.  In  some 
parts  of  our  country  the  precentor  yet  exercises  his  primitive  func- 
tions. The  writer,  while  laboring  in  one  of  the  Southern  States, 
where  he  preached  occasionally  to  a  number  of  Scotch  congrega- 
tions, has  ofteu,  after  reading  the  psalm,  handed  the  book  to  the 
chorister,  to  be  read  again  by  him  as  the  lines  were  sung. 


MIXTURE   OF   FACES.  57 

were  now  past.  Fifty  years  of  peaceful  intercourse 
with  the  natives  had  produced  a  general  feeling  of 
securit}'.  It  was  no  longer  necessary  to  worship  in 
forts,  or  to  erect  fianhers  at  the  church  corners  for 
the  shelter  of  armed  sentinels.  Indeed,  the  gospel 
had  by  this  time  penetrated  the  darkness,. of  the 
aboriginal  mind,  and  in  the  same  Christian  assem- 
bly might  have  been  seen  the  white  man  with  his 
African  servant  and  his  Indian  neighbor.  Amid 
this  mixture  of  races  the  foundations  of  our  Zion 
were  laid.  Just  about  a  hundred  years  later,  (Feb- 
ruary 24,  1820,)  New  Jersey  passed  her  emancipa- 
tion act,  and  now  African  and  Indian  have  together 
receded  before  the  resistless  intelligence  of  a  supe- 
rior race. 


CHAPTER    III. 
EEV.     DANIEL    TAYLOR. 

IT  may  be  presumed  that  tlie  year  1721  found 
tlie  Mountain  Society  in  circumstances  to  invite 
to  their  pulpit  a  pastor,  if  this  step  had  not  been 
already  taken.  There  is  a  tradition  in  the  parish, 
that  before  the  settlement  of  Daniel  Taylor,  the 
Society  had  a  minister,  who  was  drowned,  together 
with  his  son,  in  crossins;  the  Connecticut  river  at 
Saybrook,  on  a  visit  to  his  friends.  This  tragic  in- 
cident, however,  belongs  to  the  history  of  Rev. 
Joseph  Webb,'"  of  the  Newark  church.  It  is  quite 
likely  that  before  the  congregation  had  obtained  a 

*  The  Boston  Gazette  and  Weekly  Journal  of  Oct.  27,  1741, 
contained  the  following :  "  We  have  an  account  that,  on  Tuesday 
last,  the  Seabrook  ferry-boat  overset,  wherein  were  the  Rev.  Joseph 
Webb,  of  New  Haven,  and  his  son,  a  young  woman,  and  several 
otliers.  The  two  former  were  drowned ;  the  others  with  great 
difficulty  got  safe  to  shore."  (Sec  the  New  P]ngland  Historical 
and  Genealogical  Register  and  Antiquarian  Journal,  January, 
185G.)  Mr.  Webb  liad  been  about  five  years  dismissed  from  his 
Newark  charge. 


HIS  NATIVITY.  59 

minister,  Mr.  Webb  had  occasional  appointments 
here.  The  people  were  a  part  of  the  flock  to 
which  his  predecessors  had  ministered.  It  it  also 
likely  that  during  the  four  years  of  his  residence 
in  Newark,  after  his  dismission  from  that  charge 
in  1736,  when  he  continued  still  to  preaclj^in  the 
neighborhood,  this  part  of  the  town  received  his 
occasional  labors,  //e,  however,  could  not  have 
been  Mr.  Taylor's  predecessor  here,  and  the  fatal 
casualty  at  Say  brook  ferry  did  not  occur  till  1741, 
when  the  latter  is  known  to  have  been  in  the  field 
eighteen  years. 

According  to  the  inscription  on  his  tombstone, 
Mr.  Taylor  was  born  about  the  year  1691,*  and 
was  in  liis  sixteenth  year  wlien  he  graduated  at  the 
high  school,  or  college,  at  Killingworth,  the  embryo 
Yale.  It  was  not  uncommon  at  that  period  for 
boys  to  be  put  through  the  required  course  of 
Greek  and  Latin  at  sixteen  years. 

Inquiries  respecting  his  nativity  have  been  fruit- 
less. We  have  sought  for  it  among  the  Taylors 
of  Deerfield,  Mass.,  and  among  those  of  Norwalk 
and  Danbury,  Conn.  It  appears,  from  the  town 
records  of  Smithtown,  Long  Island,  that  he  resided 
there  four  years,  ending  with  1717,  and  that  Rich- 
ard Smith  and  his  four  brothers,  on  the  13th  day 

*  Not  1G84,  as  given  by  Thompson;  Hist.  Long  Island,  2d  cd., 
vol.  I.,  p.  4 GO. 


60  LABORS   ON   LONG   ISLAND. 

of  February  in  that  year,  gave  liim  fifty  acres  of 
land  on  the  west  side  of  Nesaquake  river,  in  con- 
sideration of  his  ministerial  labors.  There,  too,  at 
the  age  of  twenty -four  years,  died  his  wife,  Jemima, 
April  20,  1716,  as  indicated  by  a  headstone  in  the 
old  burial-place  of  the  Smiths. 

In  what  year  he  came  to  New  Jersey  is  not 
known.  It  was  prior  to  April  23,  1723,  at  which 
time  he  and  Matthew  Williams  were  witnesses  of  a 
deed  given  by  Peleg  Shores  to  Jonathan  Lindsley, 
conveying  "  one  equal  half  of  the  farm  or  planta- 
tion which  did  formerly  belong  to  Anthony  Olive." 
On  the  18th  of  May,  1726,  the  same  land  was  con- 
veyed by  Jonathan  Lindsley  to  David  AVilliams, 
and  the  deed  again  witnessed  by  Daniel  Taylor 
and  Elizabeth  Taylor.*  The  latter  may  be  pre- 
sumed to  have  been  his  "  beloved  wife,  Eliza^beth," 
mentioned  in  his  will.  She  married  a  Hedden 
after  his  decease. 

According  to  traditions  handed  down  in  the  line 
of  his  family,  Mr.  Taylor  brought  a  wife  from  Long 
Island,  whom  he  buried  here.  From  such  light  as 
we  can  gather  from  his  will,  and  from  the  ages 
recorded  on  their  tombstones,  we  suppose  her  to 

*  On  the  back  of  the  deed  is  a  deposition,  certified  Dec.  27, 
1765,  to  the  effect  that  the  said  Elizabeth  Taylor,  now  Elizabeth 
Hedden,  personally  appeared  before  Samuel  Woodruff,  one  of  his 
Majesty's  Council  for  the  province  of  New  Jersey,  and  swore  that 
she  saw  the  within  deed  lawfully  executed. 


MR.  Taylor's  family.  61 

have  been  the  mother  of  his  oldest  son  and  second 
daughter ;  and  if  he  came  to  this  parish  after  the 
year  1721,  he  must  have  brought  with  him  three 
children.  This  second  wife  is  said  to  have  been 
afflicted  with  a  nervous  disorder,  which  so  affected 
her  mind  as  to  bring  great  trials  upon  h^r  hus- 
band. Toward  the  end  of  her  life  she  had  a  ham- 
mock suspended  in  her  room,  on  which  she  was 
laid  and  gently  swung,  with  a  view  to  its  soothing 
and  sleep-inducing  influence.  Before  the  spring  of 
1726,  her  sufferings  had  evidently  terminated  ;  un- 
less we  suppose  the  Elizabeth  Taylor  mentioned 
above  to  have  been  the  mother  or  sister  of  the  min- 
ister, instead  of  his  wife.*  The  lady  whom  he 
next  married,  and  who  bore  that  name,  outlived 
him  by  at  least  eighteen  years.  From  this  and 
other  circumstances,  it  may  be  inferred  that  she 
was  considerably  younger  than  he. 

From  the  number  of  deeds  witnessed,  and  appar- 
ently drawn  up  by  Mr.  Taylor,  he  appears  to  have 

*  An  ancient  volume  of  sermons,  said  to  have  been  given  by 
Mr.  Taylor  to  Susan  Tichenor,  and  now  in  the  possession  of  Widow 
Mary  Freeman,  of  South  Orange,  contains  upon  a  fly-leaf  the  in- 
scription :  "  Elizabeth  Taylor,  her  Booke,  1686."  Tlie  tradition  is, 
that  it  had  belonged  to  his  sister.  If  so,  she  had  probably  received 
it  from  her  mother,  as  the  name  was  inscribed  five  years  before 
Mr.  Taylor's  birtli.  The  volume  is  a  thick  quarto,  pubhshed  in 
London  in  1674,  and  containing  thirty-one  sermons  by  leading 
preachers  of  the  time ;  the  first  being  by  the  compiler,  Dr.  Samuel 
Annesly. 

4 


62  HOME   AXD   LANDS. 

been  the  scrivener^  as  well  as  the  ministc]-,  of  the 
parisli.  His  ready  pen  and  knowledge  of  kgal 
forms  were  in  frequent  demand,  and  doubtless 
saved  to  the  planters  many  a  fee  that  would  other- 
wise have  gone  to  the  lawj^ers. 

He  was  the  owner  of  his  residence,  which  stood 
on  the  site  now  occupied  by  Joseph  B.  Lindsley, 
corner  of  Main  and  Hillyer  streets.  This  bordered 
upon  the  twenty  acres  bought  of  Thomas  Gardner 
by  the  parish.  His  house  is  said  to  have  been 
afterwards  moved  to  where  the  Park  House  stands, 
and  to  have  been  fitted  up  for  a  tavern. 

Besides  the  homestead,  he  had  a  tract  of  land, 
lying  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  north,  on  the  south- 
west side  of  Washington  street,  now  owned  by  the 
Williams  family.  Fifteen  acres*  of  this,  h'ing  be- 
tween the  upper  end  of  Park  street  and  the  brook, 

*  Described  as  "  one  certain  tract  or  parcel  of  land,  scituate, 
lying  and  being  in  the  bounds  of  Newark  aforesaid,  at  the  moun- 
tain plantations,  so-called,  and  by  a  brook  commonly  called  and 
known  by  the  name  of  Perrow's  brook :  Beginning  at  a  walnut-tree 
markedjOn  the  western  side  of  the  highway  ;  thence  running  north- 
west down  to  said  brook ;  thence  northerly,  as  the  brook  runs, 
to  the  land  of  said  Matthew  "Williams  ;  and  thence  by  his  land  to 
an  highway,  and  so  round  by  highways  to  the  place  whore  it 
began :  containing  and  to  contain  lifleen  acres,  be  there  more  or 
less."     Signed  by  DANIKL  T.WLOR. 

GORSHOM    WiLLIAJIS, 

his 


Thomas  +  Lamson,  j  ^i'^^^^es. 
mark.  j 


REVIVAL   OF   1734.  63 

were  deeded  by  him  to  Matthew  Williams,  Jun., 
June  1,  1731.  The  rest  of  it  lay  on  the  other 
side  of  Park  street,  including  the  ground  on  which 
Aaron  Williams  now  resides.  Between  it  and  the 
main  road  were  twenty-six  acres,  owned  by  ISTa- 
thaniel  Williams,  and  sold  by  him,  Feb.  10,  1735, 
to  Matthew  Williams,  who  again  sold  four  acres  of 
the  same  to  the  parish,  in  1748. 

We  know  little  of  Mr.  Tajdor  as  a  preacher. 
From  the  boldness  and  zeal  with  which,  according 
to  their  statements,  he  took  sides  against  the  Pro- 
prietors in  defence  of  Indian  titles,  we  may  infer 
a  character  of  energy,  fearlessness,  and  firmness. 
Such  a  man  must  have  been  one  who  shunned 
not  to  declare  the  whole  counsel  of  God.  And  it 
is  pleasing  to  know,  not  only  from  the  perpetuity 
and  growth  of  the  Ch  urch,  but  from  records  made 
at  that  time  of  the  mighty  works  of  God,  that 
power  divine  attended  his  words,  and  that  revival 
scenes  were  passing  here  while  the  gTeat  awaken- 
ing in  Kew  England  was  in  progress.  President 
Edwards,  in  his  Narrative  of  Surprising  Conver- 
sions, thus  alludes  to  a  work  of  grace  here :  "  But 
this  shower  of  Divine  blessing  has  been  yet  more 
extensive  :  there  was  no  small  degree  of  it  in  some 
parts  of  the  Jerseys,  as  I  w^as  informed  when  I  was 
at  New  York  (in  a  long  journey  I  took  at  that  time 
of  the  year,  for  my  health),  by  some  people  of  the 
Jerseys  whom  I  saw  :  especially  the  Rev.  Mr,  Wil- 


64  REVIVAL   IN   NEWARK. 

liam  Tennent,  a  minister  who  seemed  to  Lave  such 
things  much  at  heart,  told  me  of  a  very  great 
awakening  of  many  in  a  place  called  the  Moun- 
tains, under  the  ministry  of  one  Mr.  Cross,"  &c.* 
What  numbers  were  truly  converted  and  added  to 
the  fellowship  of  the  Church,  as  the  result  of  this 
'•'•very  great  awakening  o/"7wa7?,y,"  we  have  no  means 
of  ascertaining. 

About  four  years  later,  viz ,  in  August,  1739,  a 
revival  of  similar  power  took  place  in  Newark, 
under  the  then  youthful  Rev.  Aaron  Burr.  It  was 
just  before  the  first  visit  of  Whitefield  to  this  part 
of  the  country.  Beginning  among  the  youth,  it 
reached  the  adult  portion  of  the  congregation  by 
the  following  spring,  when  "  the  whole  town  were 
brought  under  an  uncommon  concern  about  their 
eternal  interests."  As  the  work  abated  in  Newark, 
it  broke  out  in  Elizabethtown,  after  Whitefield 
had  been  laboring  there  with  apparently  no  suc- 

=■-•  It  is  stated  by  Rev.  Richard  Webster  (Hist.  Presb.  Cli.,  p. 
413,)  that  John  Cross,  "  styled  by  Dr.  Brownlee  '  a  Scottish 
worthy,'  was  received  as  a  member  of  Sj-nod  in  1732,  and  settled 
at  a  place  '  called  the  Mountains,  back  of  Newark.'  The  remark- 
able revival  in  his  congregation  there,  in  1734  and  '35,  is  noticed 
in  Edwards's  '  Thoughts  on  Revivals.'  "  Here  is  a  double  error. 
Mr.  Cross,  of  Baskingridge,  could  not  have  been  settled  here, 
though  he  may  have  preached  here  during  the  revival — for  he 
was  very  zealous  in  revival  labors  :  and  the  passage  referred  to 
in  Edwards  is  cited  from  the  wrong  treatise,  being  found  in  his 
Narrative  of  Surprising  Conversions. 


NEGRO   PLOTS.  65 

cess.  Again,  in  the  following  year,  it  was  revived 
in  Newark,  with  more  glorious  manifestations  of 
Divine  power  than  before.  To  Avhat  extent  its  in- 
fluence was  felt  by  this  congregation,  we  have  no 
means  of  knowing. 

It  is  painful  to  turn  from  these  pleasing  views  of 
the  triumphs  of  the  gospel  of  peace,  to  the  troubles 
and  disorders  that  ensued.  Serious  apprehensions 
were  excited,  about  this  time,  of  insurrections 
among  the  servile  population.  As  early  as  1734, 
a  rising  was  attempted  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Earitan,  in  consequence  of  which  one  or  more  ne- 
groes were  hung.  In  July,  1750,  two  others  were 
executed  at  Perth  Amboy,  for  the  murder  of  their 
mistress.  Between  those  events,  in  1741,  a  formi- 
dable negi^o  plot  was  thought  to  be  discovered  in 
New  York,  which  resulted  in  "  many  executions, 
both  by  hanging  and  burning."  The  plan  laid  in 
the  insurrection  of  the  Earitan  was,  to  join  the  In- 
dians in  the  interest  of  the  French,  in  a  general 
massacre  of  the  English  population. 

But  the  troubles  in  which  the  planters  of  this 
locality  were  more  seriously  involved,  grew  out  of 
their  relations  with  the  great  land-monopoly.  The 
Proprietors  of  East  Jersey  had,  in  1702,  surren- 
dered to  the  crown  their  powers  of  government, 
but  not  their  right  to  the  soil.  It  was  stipulated, 
among  the  conditions  of  the  transfer,  that  "  the 
crown  disclaims  all  right  to  the  province  of  New 


66  RIGHTS  OF  THE  CROWN. 

Jersey,  other  than  tlie  government,  and  owns  the 
soil  and  quit-rents,  &c.,  to  belong  to  the  said  Gen- 
eral Proprietors;  and  the  Grovernors  are  directed 
not  to  permit  any  other  person  or  persons,  besides 
the  said  General  Proprietors,  to  purchase  any  land 
whatsoever  from  the  Indians  Avithin  the  limits  of 
their  grant."  By  an  act  of  the  Assembly,  pub- 
lished in  November,  1703,  after  the  arrival  of  Lord 
Cornbury,  not  only  all  Indian  purchases  which 
had  not  been  made  by  the  Proprietors  before  that 
time,  were  declared  null  and  void,  unless  grants 
for  them  were  obtained  within  six  months  ;  but 
also  all  who  should  thereafter  make  purchases  of 
the  Indians,  except  Proprietors  (and  they  only  in 
the  manner  prescribed  by  the  act),  should  forfeit 
forty  shillings  per  acre  for  every  acre  so  pur- 
chased. 

This  stringent  prohibition  was  thus  confidently 
vindicated :  "  Has  not  the  crown  of  England  a  right 
to  those  void  or  uninhabited  countries  which  are 
discovered  by  any  of  its  subjects?  Has  not  the 
crown  of  England  a  right  to  restrain  its  subjects 
from  treating  with  any  heathen  nation  whatsoever? 
And  has  not  the  croivn  of  England,  in  consequence 
of  that  right,  power  to  grant  the  liberty  of  treating 
with  any  heathen  nation  to  any  one  particular  per- 
son, exclusive  of  all  others,  and  that  upon  such 
terms  as  by  the  crown  may  be  thought  proper? 
Has  not  the  crown  of  England  at  least  granted  that 


CHALMERS'   OPINION.  67 

right  to  the  proprietors  by  the  grants  of  New  Jersey, 
Tinder  the  great  seal  of  England  ?"* 

Yet  there  were  some  in  Newark,  as  there  had 
been  long  before  in  Elizabethtown,  who  ventured  to 
call  this  right  in  question;  "blindly  led  on,"  say 
the  Proprietors,  "  by  a  position,  that  the  Indians  were 
once  the  owners  of  the  soil ;  and  therefore  they  con- 
clude that  those  who  have  purchased,  or  got  deeds 
of  their  right,  must  also  be  owners  now." 

It  is  not  our  business  to  discuss  the  question  here 
at  issue.  The  reader  will  however  be  interested  in 
the  following  views  of  Dr.  Chalmers,  touching  the 
same  question.  A  band  of  Moravian  missionaries, 
exploring  the  coast  of  Labrador  in  1811,  took  formal 
possession  of  the  country  in  the  name  of  George 
III.,  whom  they  represented  to  the  natives  as  the 
Great  Monarch  of  all  those  territories.  "  "We  do 
not  see  the  necessity  of  this  transaction,"  says  Chal- 
mers, "  and  confess  that  our  feelings  of  justice  some- 
what revolted  at  it.  How  George  III,  should  be 
the  rightful  monarch  of  a  territory  whose  inhabi- 
tants never  saw  a  European  before,  is  something 
more  than  we  can  understand.  We  trust  that  the 
marauding  policy  of  other  times  is  now  gone  by, 
and  that  the  transaction  in  question  is  nothing  more 
than  an  idle  ceremony. "f 

*  Publication  of  April,  1746. 

f  On  the  efficacy  of  Missions  as  conducted  by  tlie  Moravians.  — 
These  claims  of  the  Christian  potentates  of  Europe  have  a  curious 


68  PAPAL   CLAIMS, 

Sentiments  similar  to  tliese  began  to  be  general 
in  our  mountain  settlement  in  tlie  course  of  twenty 
years  after  the  constitution  of  tlie  parish. 

Various  causes  had  operated  to  excite  disaffection 
toward  the  proprietors.  Many  of  them  were  ab- 
sentee landlords,  living  in  England  and  Scotland  on 
the  rents  which  they  drew  from  the  province.     It 

history.  Tliey  began  with  the  popes,  wlio,  as  God's  vicegerent?, 
claimed  to  be  the  earth's  sovereign  masters  and  proprietors.  All 
heathens,  heretics,  and  infidels,  according  to  tbeir  theory,  had  no 
right  to  any  possession  of  the  earth's  soil.  Hence,  Pope  Eugene 
IV.,  in  1440,  made  a  munificent  donation  of  Africa  to  King  Al- 
phonso  v.,  of  Portugal ;  "  not  because  that  continent  was  unin- 
habited, but  because  the  nations  subsisting  there  were  infidels,  and 
consequently  unjust  possessors  of  the  country."  By  the  same 
principle,  Pope  Alexander  VL,  in  1493,  the  year  after  its  discovery, 
gave  the  whole  of  America  to  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  of  Spain, 
(although  one  of  his  infallible  predecessors  had  declared  that  no 
such  continent  as  America  did  or  could  exist) ;  a  grant  which  the 
royal  pair  accepted  (according  to  Herrera)  against  the  advice  of  the 
Spanish  civilians  and  canon  lawyers. 

The  disposing  power  thus  assumed  by  the  popes  was  too  absurd 
to  be  regarded  by  Roman  Catholic  princes,  when  exercised  to  the 
prejudice  of  their  interests.  Tet,  with  greater  absurdity,  they 
arrogated  for  themselves  the  power  which  they  denied  to  the  suc- 
cessors of  St.  Peter.  Thus,  Henry  VII.  of  England,  in  1496,  com- 
missioned John  Cabot  and  his  three  sons,  with  their  associates,  "  to 
navigate  all  parts  of  the  ocean,  in  five  ships,  under  the  banners  of 
England,  for  the  purpose  of  discovering  such  heathen  or  infidel 
regions,  countries  or  islands,  wherever  situated,  as  were  unknown 
to  christian  states ;  with  power  to  set  up  the  King's  standard  in 
any  lands,  islands,  &c.,  which  they  ipight  discover,  not  previously 
occupied  by  christians,  and  to  seize,  conquer,  and  possess,  all  such 


DISAFFECTION.  69 

happened  in  a  few  instances  that  lands  were  twice 
sold  "under  conflicting  proprietary  titles,  so  that  cer- 
tain purchasers  were  dispossessed.  Some  who  had 
purchased  a  proprietary  interest,  with  the  privilege 
of  selecting  their  land  afterward,  took  advantage  of 
the  circumstance  to  select  and  sell  at  their  pleasure. 
Licenses  to  buy  of  the  natives  were  also  forged  or 

lands,  Islands,  &c.,  and  as  his  liege  vassals,  governors,  locumtenentea 
[lieutenants]  or  deputies,  to  hold  dominion  over  and  have  exclusive 
fropertij  in  the  same."  Elizabeth,  James,  and  their  successors,  gave 
similar  commissions,  all  containing  this  proviso,  ''that  the  territories 
and  districts  so  granted  be  not  previously  occupied  and  possessed 
by  the  subjects  of  any  other  christian  prince  or  state." 

What  liings  would  not  concede  to  popes,  was  by  virtue  of  their 
power  conceded  to  kings,  but  under  protest.  Thus,  Bartholomew 
De  Las  Casas,  bishop  of  Chiapa,  in  a  treatise  dedicated  to  Charles 
v.,  represented  that  the  natives  of  America,  "having  their  own 
lawful  kings  and  princes,  and  a  right  to  make  laws  for  the  good 
government  of  their  respective  dominions,  could  not  be  expelled 
out  of  them,  or  deprived  of  what  they  possess,  without  doing  vio- 
lence to  the  laws  of  God  as  well  as  the  law  of  nations." 

"  It  is  universally  acknowledged  that  discovery,  the  only  title 
that  any  European  State  could  allege  to  the  lands  of  America, 
affords  no  just  claim  to  anj'-  but  derelict  or  uninhabited  lands,  which 
those  of  America  are  not.     [Griffith,  vol.  10.]" 

"  All  the  nations  of  Europe,  and  indeed  of  the  world,  have  been 
as  unchristian  and  as  savage  as  the  aborigines  in  America  ;  and 
if  ignorance,  either  in  matters  of  religion  or  science,  could  defeat 
the  title  of  a  people  to  their  country,  the  English  must  be  unjust 
possessors  of  the  British  soil,  and  incapable  of  conveying  it  to  their 
posterity." 

See  an  "  Examination  into  the  riglits  of  the  Indian  Nations  to 
their  respective  countries,"  &c.     Phila.  1781. 

4* 


70  OPPOSITION   MEASURES. 

altered.  These  things  all  together  created  no  little 
confusion ;  and  between  the  errors  of  agents  and 
the  arts  of  the  unprincipled,  the  planters  often  found 
their  just  interests  sacrificed.  It  was  not  difficult 
to  tui"n  the  current  of  popular  indignation  against 
the  proprietors,  even  when  the  latter  were  victims 
of  the  fraud. 

As  early  as  1744,  we  find  the  settlers  about  the 
mountain  adopting  measures  for  the  defence  of  their 
titles.*     Contributions  were  raised  for  defraying  the 

*  See  Samuel  Harrisoa's  account-book,  preserved  by  Edward 
Pierson,  Esq.,  of  Newark,  iu  which  is  the  following  "  account  of 
what  each  one  hath  paid  in  order  to  the  establishing  their  right  of 
land,  and  in  defraying  the  charge,"     The  dates  belong  to  1744. 


"Nathaniel  Crane, 

£1-10-0 

Thomas  Williams, 

£      3-0 

Sam.   Harrison,  in   cash    to 

Samuel  Wheeler, 

17-6 

Capt.  Wheeler, 

7-0 

Going  to  N.  England  4  days. 

1-  4-0 

Nathaniel  Camp, 

7-0 

Going  to  N.  England  9  days, 

2-14-0 

Samuel  Baldwin, 

7-0 

Going  to  Horse  Neck  with 

Sam.  Harrison  p'd  Mr.  Tay- 

Jlr. Taylor, 

5-0 

lor, 

3-6 

Going  to  Horse  Neck   with 

John  Cundict  p'd  Jlr.  Tay- 

Dan. Lamson, 

5-0 

lor, 

7-0 

Cash  p'd  to  l!r.  Taylor, 

8-6 

August  iO.  Garhshom    Wil- 

"   p'd  to  John  Cundict, 

14-0 

liams, 

7-0 

do. 

2-4 

Oct.  7.  I  received  of  Amos 

"    p'd  to  John  Tompkins, 

17-10 

Williams,  on   accompt  of 

Going  to  New  York, 

10-0" 

the  charge  of  the  purchase 

«&c.  &c. 

right, 

7-0 

Wo  find  the  following  entry  also  about  that  time:  "Jan.  23, 
1744-5.  Samuel  Freeman  brought  to  me  two  wolves'  heads,  and 
I  marked  it  [thorn]  according  to  law  and  gave  him  a  ticket  for  the 
same."  We  may  infer  that  Mr.  Harrison  was  a  magistrate,  and 
that  Deacon  Freeman  did  not  consider  the  poor  wolves  entitled  to 
■  the  charities  of  his  office. 


LOSS   OF   DEED.       ,  71 

expenses  of  agents  sent  to  Connecticut  and  to  Horse 
Neck  [Caldwell],  for  tte  purpose,  it  is  presumed,  of 
obtaining  papers  or  affidavits  tending  to  confirm 
their  rights. 

In  these  proceedings  Mr.  Taylor  appears  to  have 
taken  a  prominent  part. 

From  the  coincidence  of  dates  it  woifld  seem 
that  these  measures  were  made  necessary  by  the 
loss  of  the  deed  of  the  large  Indian  purchase  of 
1701.  That  important  document  was  destroyed — 
whether  accidentally  or  intentionally  cannot  be 
known — by  the  burning  of  Jonathan  Pierson's 
house,  March  7,  17-14—5.  With  all  haste  another 
was  drawn  up,  which  was  signed  on  the  14th  by 
certain  descendants  of  the  old  Sagamores,  and 
witnessed  by  Isaac  Vangiesen,  Francis-  Cook,  [his 
mark,]  Daniel  Taylor,  and  Michael  W.  Vreelandt 
[his  mark.]  The  event  furnished  an  occasion,  how- 
ever, which  seems  to  have  been  seized  upon  for 
disturbing  many  persons  in  their  claims  and  pos- 
sessions, and  this  in  turn  gave  rise  to  the  idiots  that 
ensued.  Samuel  Baldwin,  for  getting  saw-logs  off 
his  laud,  was  arrested  and  put  in  jail.  His  friends 
went  to  his  rescue,  broke  open  the  jail  and  released 
him.  In  November,  depositions  were  made  before 
Joseph  Bonnel,  Esq.,  "by  John  Morris,  aged  79 
years,  Abraham  Van  Giesen,  aged  80  years,  Michael 
Vreelandt,  aged  81  years,  Cornelius  Demaress, 
Samuel   Harrison,   John  Condit,   Deacon   Samuel 


72  ■  RIOTS. 

Ailing,  Samuel  Tompkins,  Francis  Spier,  Ilen- 
drick  Francisco,  Joseph  Riggs,  and  others,  relating 
to  the  course  of  the  Proprietors  of  East  Jersey,  in 
obliging  them  to  repurchase  their  lands  after  hav- 
ing enjoyed  long  and  peaceable  possession."*  In 
the  same  month,  Nehemiah  Baldwin,  Joseph  Pier- 
son,  Daniel  Williams,  Nathaniel  Williams,  Eleazer 
Lamson,  Gamaliel  Clark,  and  twenty-one  others, 
stood  before  the  Supreme  Court  for  riots  committed 
in  Essex  county. 

Affairs  were  now  converging  to  a  general  and 
spirited  struggle  with  the  Proprietors.  During  the 
year  1745,  an  association  was  formed,  and  another 
large  purchase  west  of  the  mountain  was  made  of 
the  Indians,  in  which  all  proprietary  claims  were 
ignored.  It  was  the  famous  purchase  of  fifteen 
miles  square,  obtained,  as  the  Proprietors  sneer- 
ingly  asserted,  "  for  the  valuable  consideration  of 
five  shillings  and  some  bottles  of  rum  .  .  .  from 
Indians  who  claimed  no  riglit,  and  told  them  they  had 
none  ;  but  no  matter  for  that,  it  was  enough  that 
they  were  Indians,  and  they  had  their  deeds."  The 
purchasers  took  a  different  view  of  the  transaction. 
They  had  their  vindicator  too.  There  was 
"  A  Daniel  come  to  jud<^ment ;  yea,  a  Daniel." 

Toward  the  close  of  the  year,  there  appeared  in 
New  York  a  little  pamphlet  of  forty-eight  pages, 

*  Rutherford  MSS.     See  Analytical  Index,  by  N.  J.  Hist.  Soc. 


VINDICATION.  73 

entitled  "  A  Brief  vindication  of  the  Purchassors 
Against  the  Proprietors  in  a  Christian  Manner." 
It  is  supposed  to  have  been  written  by  Mr.  Taylor.* 
A  writer  also  in  the  New  York  Post-Boy,  of  Feb- 
17,  1745-6,   just  after  another  riot  and  release  of 
prisoners  in  the  Newark  jail,  took  up  the  cause 
of  the  planters,  laying  on  the  Proprietors  "the  blame 
of  the  disturbance.     And  in  April  a  petition  was 
addressed  to  the  General  Assembly,  in  which  the 
charges  set  forth  in  the  Post-Boy  were  enlarged 
upon,  and  measures  of  relief  were  sought.     In  the 
meantime,  prosecutions  were  renewed  against  the 
agitators  ;  a  list  of  forty-four  persons  concerned  in 
the  last  riot  being  filed  in  the  Supreme  Court  at 
the  May  term. 

But  law  owes  its  potency  to  public  opinion,  and 
so  the  Proprietors  in  turn  made  their  appeal  to  the 
public  by  means  of  the  press.  From  their  publica- 
tion of  April  7,  17-1:6,  it  appears  that  this  part  of 
Newark  bore  its  full  share  of  responsibility  for  the 
riots,  while  a  very  charitable  apology  is  suggested 
for  some  of  the  offenders.     They  say  :  "  Possibly 


*  There  is  a  copy  in  England  among  the  Board  of  Trade  papers. 
On  the  title-page  is  this  note  in  the  hand  of  Mr.  James  Alexander, 
of  the  Council  of  New  Jersey :  "  This  ought  to  have  been  with 
papers  transmitted  in  December  and  February  last,  but  copies 
could  not  then  be  got  at  New  York,  the  author  having  carried  all 
to  New  Jersey  for  sale  there."  See  Analytical  Index  to  the  Colo- 
nial Documents  of  N.  J.,  p.  I9fi. 


74  REPLIES. 

many  of  the  rioters,  being  ignorant  men,  and  many 
of  them  strangers  to  tlie  Province,  and  since  they 
came  to  it  living  retired  in  and  behind  the  moun- 
tains of  Newark,  upon  any  land  they  could  find, 
"without  enquiring  who  the  owner  thereof  was,  have 
of  late  been  animated  and  stirred  up  to  believe, 
that  those  things  which  the  laws  of  the  Province 
have  declared  to  be  criminal  and  penal  were  law- 
ful ;  and  that  those  crimes  committed  gave  the 
criminals  rights,  privileges,  and  properties ;  but 
though  many  have  been  ignorant  enough  to  be  so 
seduced,  we  cannot  think  that  all  can  with  truth 
plead  that  excuse."  Doubtless  among  the  excepted 
cases  was  "  Parson  Taylor,"  suspected  by  council- 
man Alexander  (who  wished  he  had  sufficient  evi- 
dence of  it)  to  be  the  composer  of  all  their  papers. 

In  their  publication  of  Sept.  14,  1747,  we  find 
the  following  spicy  allusions  to  our  ancient  pastor : 

"  The  Committee  [of  the  opposition]  who  appear 
on  the  stage,  are  nine  expert  men,  with  an  Assem- 
blyman in  the  number,  and  many  hundreds,  even 
thousands,  say  they,  of  club-men  at  their  command. 
And  who  can  withstand  that  interest  ?  Especially 
as  the  worthy  Committee  and  clubmen  have  two 
supernumerary  prompters  behind  the  curtain — 
Clergymen — who  sanctify  their  actions  !  One  of 
them,  it's  said,  is  the  before-named  Mr.  Taylor,  a 
reverend  Independent  minister  of  the  mountains 
behind  Newark,  secretary,  scribe,  and  councillor  to 


PULPIT   VIEWS.  76 

the  worthy  Committee,  in  their  several  late  per- 
formances in  newspapers,  petitions,  proposals,  and 
answer  now  before  us ;  and  a  worthy  partner  with 
the  Committee  in  the  fifteen-mile-square  purchase 
aforesaid,  lately  (as  before  is  said,)  for  a  five-shil- 
lino-  York  bill  and  some  rum,  bought  of  some 
Indians  who  claimed  no  right ;  and  yet  (if  we  will 
take  their  words  for  it)  this  their  purchase  was 
honestly,  duly  and  legally  made :  which  Eeverend 
Pastor,  it's  said,  makes  it  as  clear  as  the  sun,  in  his 
sermons  to  the  Committee  and  Eioters,  that  all  that 
they  have  done  is  authorized  by  the  Bible ;  for 
there,  he  assures  them,  he  has  found  a  charter-grant 
for  their  lands ;  and  even  cites  book,  chapter  and 
verse  for  it ;  and  no  man  can  question  that  to  be 
the  hest  record  on  earthy  and  all  authority  of  man 
that  would  derogate  from  that  charter,  is  rightly  to 
be  resisted  and  opposed.  The  other  clergyman, 
it's  said,  is  the  Rev.  Mr.  John  Cross,  late  minister 
of  Basking-Ridge,  Secretary,  scribe  and  counsellor 
to  the  worthy  Mr.  Roberts,  who  assumed  to  be  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  rioters  in  their  late  expedi- 
tion to  Perth  Amboy,  on  the  17th  of  July  last ; 
and  for  which  he  and  many  others  stand  indicted 
of  high  treason." 

Such  was  the  tone  of  the  controversy.  It  is  not 
imlikely,  if  the  sermons  alluded  to  could  be  repro- 
duced, we  should  find  indignation  as  eloquent,  if 
not  sarcasm  as  abundant,  on  the  other  side. 


76  OTHER   THOUGHTS. 

But  Mr.  Taylor's  interest  in  the  controversy  was 
now  ending.  A  subject  of  more  solemn  concern- 
ment claimed  his  thoughts.  About  three  months 
after  the  above  publication  was  issued,  he  was  setting 
his  house  in  order  as  one  whose  time  of  departure 
was  at  hand.  We  present  to  the  reader  a  copy  of 
his  will,  taken  from  the  probate  records  at  Trenton, 
as  showing  the  manner  in  which  the  old  Puritans 
closed  up  their  earthly  affairs, 

"  In  the  name  of  God,  amen :  this  twenty-first 
day  of  December,  Anno  Domini  one  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  forty-seven,  I,  Daniel  Tay- 
lor, of  Newark,  in  the  county  of  Essex  and  prov- 
ince of  New  Jersey,  clerk,*  being  aged  and  infirm 
of  body,  but  of  sound  and  perfect  mind  and  mem- 
ory, thanks  be  given  unto  God  therefor,  calling 
unto  mind  the  mortality  of  my  body,  and  knowing 
it  is  appointed  unto  all  men  once  to  die,  do  make 
and  ordain  this  my  last  will  and  testament.  And 
principally,  and  first  of  all,  I  give  and  recommend 
my  soul  into  the  hands  of  God  who  gave  it,  hoping 
through  the  alone  merits  of  Jesus  Christ  to  have 
eternal  life ;  and  my  body  I  recommend  unto  the 
earth,  (being  dead,)  to  be  buried  in  a  decent  Chris- 
tian manner  at  the  discretion  of  my  executors, 
nothing  doubting  but  at  the  general  resurrection  I 
shall  receive  the  same  again  by  the  mighty  power 

*  That  is,  cleric,  or  clergyman. 


MR.  Taylor's  will.  77 

of  God.  And  as  touching  sucli  worldly  estate 
wherewith  it  hath  pleased  God  to  bless  me  in  this 
life,  I  give,  devise  and  dispose  of  the  same  in  the 
following  manner  and  form  : 

"  Imprimis^  I  give,  devise  and  bequeath  unto 
my  beloved  wife  Elizabeth,  one  equal  third  part 
of  all  and  singular  my  household  goods  and  chat- 
tels, if  she  please  to  accept  it  as  her  dowry  from 
me. 

"  Item,  I  give  my  son,  Daniel  Taylor,  besides 
what  he  hath  already  had  from  me  since  he  came 
of  age,  (which  is  to  the  value  of  more  than  sixty 
pounds,)  the  sum  of  ten  pounds,  to  be  paid  within 
one  year  after  my  decease,  either  in  money  or  what 
may  be  equivalent  thereto. 

"  Itern^  I  give  my  daughter  Jemima  what  hath 
been  provided  for  her  against  the  day  of  her  mar- 
riage of  household  furniture,  as  also  a  cow,  and  the 
sum  of  five  pounds  to  be  paid  her  as  is  above  said. 

''^  Item,  I  give  unto  my  other  two  daughters,  viz., 
Mary  and  Elizabeth,  the  other  jDart  of  my  house- 
hold goods,  and  the  sum  of  twenty  pounds  in 
m.oney,  to  be  paid  to  each  of  them  by  their  breth- 
ren hereafter  mentioned,  when  or  as  they  shall 
come  to  full  age,  &c. 

"  Item,  I  give  unto  my  other  three  children,  viz., 
Davie,  Joseph  and  Job,  all  and  singular  my  estate? 
(not  otherwise  herein  disposed  of,)  both  real  and 
personal,  to  be  unto  or  for  them  (when  they  come 


78  THE  WITNESSES. 

of  age)  and  their  heirs  and  assigns  forever.  And 
my  will  is,  that  if  any  or  either  of  my  children  do 
or  shall  decease  before  the}^  come  of  age,  or  with- 
out issue,  their  portion  or  inheritance  shall  be  dis- 
tributed or  divided  unto  or  among  the  survivors, 
viz. :  if  inales,  unto  the  males,  and  [if]  females, 
unto  the  females  ;  and  also  that  the  negroes,  if  they 
desire  it,  shall  be  sold,  or  at  the  discretion  of  my 
executors  put  out  on  hire,  for  the  good  of  my  sons 
aforesaid,  till  they  come  of  age,  and  that  they,  par- 
ticularly Joseph  and  Job,  be  put  to  learn  some 
trade. 

"Jfe/w,  I  do  hereby  constitute,  ordain  and  appoint 
my  beloved  friends  and  brethren  in  covenant  rela- 
tion, Joseph  Peck  and  David  Williams,  executors 
of  this  my  will  to  see  it  duly  performed,  and  I  do 
hereby  utterly  disallow,  revoke  and  disannul!  all 
other  and  former  wills,  legacies,  bequests,  and 
executors,  at  any  time  before-named,  willed  or 
bequeathed,  ratifying  and  allowing  this  to  be  my 
last  will  and  testament.  In  witness  whereof  I 
have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  seal,  the  day  and 
year  first  above  written. 

Daniel  Taylor.     [L.  S.]" 

The  witnesses  were  "  Abraham  Soverhill,  Eleazer 
Lamson,  Sarah  Lamson  [her  mark.]"  Eighteen 
days  afterward,  the  testator  experienced  the  solemn 


HIS  DEATH,  79 

cliange  *'  appointed  unto  all  men."     The  will  was 
proved  January  23d. 

On  a  plain  liorizontal  slab  of  brown  stone  in  the 
old  graveyard  may  be  read  the  following  : 

"  Survivers,  let's  all  imitate 
The  vertues  of  our  Pastor, 
And  copy  after  him  like  as 
He  did  his  Lord  and  Master. 
To  us  most  awfull  was  the  stroke 
By  which  he  was  removed 
Unto  the  full  fruition  of 
The  God  he  served  and  loved." 

And  below  it — 

"  Here  lyes  the  pious  remains 
Of  the  Rev"i  Mr.  Daniel  Tayler, 
Who  was  minister  of  this  parrish 
Tears,  Dec-i  Jany  8*  A.D.,  1747-8, 
In  the  57th  year  of  his  age." 

The  omission  of  the  numeral  before  years^  has 
left  it  impossible  to  determine  just  when  he  came 
to  the  parish. 

We  have  already  spoken  of  his  family.  His 
first  wife,  buried  at  Smithtown,  was  probably  the 
mother  of  his  daughter  Jemima,  who  bore  her 
name,  and  who,  as  we  may  infer  from  the  will,  was 
considerably  older  than  her  sisters.  Daniel  and 
Mary  were  nearly  of  an  age,  and  are  supposed  to 
have  been  children  of  his  second  wife.  As  the 
will  implies  that  at  least  one  of  his  daughters  was 


80  r^' DESCENDANTS. 

a  minor  at  the  time  of  his  decease,  we  suppose 
Elizabeth  and  her  younger  brothers  to  have  been 
children  of  his  third  marriage.  The  grave  of  his 
second  wife,  if  she  was  buried  here,  is  without  a 
headstone  and  its  place  unknown.  Daniel,*  the 
oldest  son,  who  lived  on  a  farm  beyond  the  moun- 
tain, died  Oct.  17,  1794,  aged  74  years,  and  was 
buried  near  his  father.  Of  the  daughters,  Mary 
became  the  wife  of  Deacon  Amos  Baldwin,  and 
died  Sept.  30,  1795,  in  her  75th  year. 

In  common  with  many  of  his  parishioners  and 
ministerial  contemporaries,  Mr.  Taylor  was  a  slave- 
holder. His  will  indicates  a  humane  regard  for 
the  wishes  of  his  servants  in  the  disposition  to  be 
made  of  them  after  his  decease. 

We  should  like  to  be  able  to  pay  a  due  tribute 
to  some  of  those  worthy  men  who  were  the  helpers 
of  Mr.  Tajdor's  ministry  ;  but  with  a  single  excep- 
tion, the  names  of  the  church  ofl&cers  of  that  period 
are  unknown.  Their  only  record  is  on  high.  There 
is  presumptive  evidence  that  Samuel  Pierson,  the 
carpenter,  was  one  of  the  first  deacons.  The  evi- 
dence is  found  in  the  following  lines  upon  his  head- 
stone : 

*  Daniel  and  Anne  Taylor  had  a  son  Oliver,  who  died  Aug.  11, 
1785,  in  his  31st  j-ear.  Also  a  son  Daniel,  who  lived  to  old  age 
and  had  several  children.  Among  them  was  the  late  Mrs.  Char- 
lotte, wife  of  John  M.  Lindsley.  The  descendants  of  the  old 
pastor  are  found  among  the  Lindsleys,  Baldwins,  and  Cranes. 
None  of  the  Taylor  name,  now  resident  here,  have  been  traced. 


CHUKCH    OFFICERS.     '  81 

"  Here  lies  interred  under  tliis  mould 
A  precious  heap  of  dust,  condoled 
By  Cliurch  of  Christ  and  children  dear, 
Both  which  were  th'  objects  of  his  care." 

His  decease  occurred  March  19,  1730,  in  liis  67tli 
year. 

Josepli  Peck,  one  of  the  "  beloved  friends  and 
brethren  in  covenant  relation "  selected  by  Mr. 
Taylor  to  be  the  executors  of  his  will,  held  subse- 
quently the  double  ofS.ce  of  elder  and  deacon.  He 
was  forty-six  years  old  at  the  time  of  Mr.  Taylor's 
decease.  It  is  not  known  that  he  was  then  an  of&- 
cer.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  "  pious  and 
godly  Mr.  Job  Brown,"  who  was  in  his  full  man- 
hood—  thirty-eight  years  old.  Deacon  Samuel 
Freeman,  whose  name  will  occur  in  the  following- 
chapter,  was  six  years  younger.  These  and  others 
soon  to  be  mentioned,  received  the  bread  of  life 
from  the  first  pastor  of  the  flock,  and  formed  a 
part  of  the  sorrowful  procession  that  followed  him 
to  his  rest. 


CHAP:rER  IV. 

REV.    CALEB    SMITH. 

IF,  when  Samuel  Harrison  was  writing  the  accounts 
of  his  fulling-mill  and  saw-mill,  he  could  have 
foreknown  what  was  yet  to  be  the  historic  value 
of  a  single  leaf  of  his  account-book ;  that  after 
a  hundred  years  and  more  the  church  records  of 
that  day  Avould  all  be  lost,  the  names  of  its  officers 
lost,  and  all  knowledge  of  the  age  and  origin  of  the 
old  parsonage  lost,  till  the  said  account-book  should 
open  its  bronzed  and  tattered  lips  to  reveal  the  in- 
teresting secrets ;  possibly  that  knowledge  would 
have  secured  for  the  volume  a  more  careful  hand- 
ling and  a  choicer  place  in  his  writing-desk.  Be- 
yond a  doubt,  it  would  have  put  in  exercise  all  his 
clerkly  skill.  The  pen  would  have  striven  for  a 
little  more  method  and  grace,  and  the  dictionary 
would  have  corrected  sundry  slips  of  orthography. 
This  Samuel  Harrison  was  the  second  of  that 
name  in  Newark,  and  a  grandson  of  Sergeant  Eich- 
ard.  He  exercised  the  quadruple  functions  of  mag- 
istrate, farmer,  fuller  and  sawyer.     He  was,  withal, 


THE   PARSONAGE.  83 

a  loyal  rent-payer,  as  appears  from  a  petition  ad- 
dressed to  Governor  Belclier  in  1747,  and  signed  by 
Nathaniel  Wheeler,  Jonathan  Pierson,  John  Con- 
diet,  Nathaniel  Camp,  Samuel  Harrison,  Samuel 
Baldwin,  and  others,  asserting  their  loyalty,  and 
vindicating  themselves  against  an  implied  connec- 
tion with  recent  disturbances  and  riots. 

From  the  entries  in  his  day-book,  we  learn  that 
in  July,  1 748 — the  summer  following  Mr.  Taylor's 
death — he  was  sawing  "oke  plank"  "gice,"  "slep- 
ers,"  and  other  material,  and  also  receiving  sundry 
sums  of  money,  "on  account  of  the  parsonage."  The 
money  was  received,  in  sums  ranging  from  a  few 
shillings  to  near  twenty  pounds,  from  David  Ward, 
Jonathan  Shores,  David  Williams,  Thomas  Wil- 
liams, David  Baldwin,  Nathaniel  Crane,  Noah  Crane, 
Azariah  Crane,  Stephen  Dod,  John  Dod,  Eleazer 
Lamson,  Gershom  Williams,  Ebenezer  Farand,  Peter 
Bosteda,  William  Crane,  Jonathan  Ward,  Jonathan 
Sergeant,  Samuel  Cundict,  Joseph  Peck,  Deacon 
Samuel  Freeman,  Bethuel  Pierson,  Thomas  Lam- 
son, Samuel  AVheeler,  Robert  Baldwin,  and  Joseph 
Jones  ; — a  list  of  twenty-five  names,  chiefly  repre- 
senting (we  may  presume)  heads  of  families. 

It  thus  appears  that  the  society  took  occasion  from 
the  loss  of  its  pastor  to  provide  a  home  for  his  suc- 
cessor. Instead,  however,  of  placing  it  on  the  par- 
ish lands,  a  new  lot  of  four  acres  was  bought  of 
Matthew  Williams,  lying  "on  the  north  side  of  the 


84  CALEB   SMITH. 

highway  that  leads  to  the  mountain,  near  the  house 
once  the  Eev.  Daniel  Taylor's,  late  of  Newark,  de- 
ceased." It  lay  opposite  to  the  twenty  acres  previ- 
ously owned  by  the  parish,  and  included  the  ground 
now  occupied  by  Grace  church.  The  deed  was  given 
September  14th,  the  price  being  "  four  pounds  per 
acre,  current  money  of  New  Jersey,  at  eight  shil- 
lings per  ounce." 

The  house  was  to  be  of  stone,  and  while  the  saw- 
mill aforesaid  was  turning  out  plank,  &c.,  the  quarry 
was  yielding  more  solid  material  for  the  walls.  At 
the  same  time  the  committee-men  were  looking  out 
for  a  minister.     This  search  was  not  a  long  one. 

There  was  a  young  man — a  licentiate — who  had 
just  completed  his  theological  studies  with  Eev, 
Jonathan  Dickinson,  of  Elizabethtown.  He  was  a 
son  of  William  and  Hanuali  Smith,  of  Brook  haven, 
L.  I.,  where  he  was  born  December  29, 1723.  Enter- 
ing Yale  College  in  his  sixteenth  year,  he  displayed 
during  his  course  of  study  a  vigorous  mind  and  com- 
mendable application.  He  became  also,  in  his  sec- 
ond year,  one  of  the  hopeful  subjects  of  a  work  of 
grace  in  the  College.  After  receiving  a  degree  in 
1743,  he  remained  some  time  as  a  resident  graduate. 
In  1746  he  was  applied  to  by  Rev.  Aaron  Burr,  of 
Newark,  to  aid  him  in  conducting  a  large  Latin 
school.  Other  engagements  prevented  him  at  the 
time  from  accepting  the  place  ;  but  some  time  after, 
upon  an  invitation  of  Mr.  Dickinson,  he  went  to 


THE   CHURCH    PRESBYTERIAN.  85 

Elizabethtowii  to  instruct  a  number  of  young  men 
in  the  languages.  There,  as  we  have  said,  he  prose- 
cuted simultaneously  his  studies  for  the  ministry, 
and.  having,  by  the  advice  of  Mr.  Dickinson  and 
other  ministers,  presented  himself  to  the  Presbytery 
of  New  York  for  licensure,  and  creditably  sustained 
his  trials,  he  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  in 
April,  1747. 

In  the  course  of  the  next  year  and  a  half,  he  re- 
ceived a  number  of  invitations  to  a  settlement.  He 
referred  these  to  the  Presbytery,  but  the  latter  sub- 
mitting them  to  his  own  judgment,  he  decided  in 
favor  of  the  call  received  from  this  society.  Ac- 
cordingly, on  the  80th  of  Novem.ber,  1748,  about 
eleven  months  after  the  death  of  his  predecessor,  he 
was  ordained  and  installed  by  the  Presbytery. 

We  see  in  this  ecclesiastical  act  a  previous  and 
important  decision  of  the  Church,  of  which  we  know 
not  the  particular  reasons  and  history.  The  relig- 
ious elements  in  New  Jersey — and  in  New  Eng- 
land no  less — were  originally  mixed.  There  Con- 
gregationalism, and  here  Presbyterianism,  had  grad- 
ually absorbed  the  otliers. 

The  Mountain  Society  maintained  its  Indepen- 
dent relations  about  thirty  ja^ars.  But  the  influ- 
ences that  caused  this  were  now  yielding  to  others. 
The  generation  of  its  founders  Avas  passing  away. 
New  circumstances  produced  new  views.  Either 
before  or  in  connection  with  the  acquaintance  made 
5 


86  MR.  smith's  marriage. 

with  Caleb  Smith,  the  Churcli  resolved  to  eonform 
to  the  prevailing  type  of  ecclesiastical  order  in  the 
province.  From  that  period  to  the  present,  it  has 
adhered  steadily  to  constitutional  Presbyterianism 
— ever  true,  at  the  same  time,  to  the  common  cause 
of  RELIGIOUS  LIBERTY,  on  whosc  battle- ground  it 
stands. 

Mr.  Smith  was  about  twenty-five  years  of  age  at 
the  time  of  his  settlement.  He  was  not  married. 
But  as  he  stepped  into  the  new  house  from  time  to 
time  to  observe  the  progress  of  the  work,  or  to  drop 
a  suggestion  relevant  thereto,  we  fancy  thoughts  of 
other  relations  than  those  which  bound  him  to  his 
people  were  sometimes  present  with  him.  The  fu- 
ture mistress  of  the  manse,  Miss  Martha  Dickinson, 
was  yet  at  the  parsonage  in  Elizabethtown.  It  is 
quite  likely  that  during  the  winter  the  young  pas- 
tor found  occasion  now  and  then  for  a  short  absence 
from  his  mountain  charge.  As  spring  came  on, 
Mr.  Harrison's  day-book  received  sundry  charges 
(at  the  rate  uniformly  of  three  shillings  sixpence  a 
day)  for  work  done  on  the  parsonage.  May  3d  was 
employed  in  "slaking  lime."  Another  day  was 
devoted  "  to  topping  up  the  chimney."  The  sum- 
mer saw  the  work  completed.  In  September,  1749, 
the  minister's  youngest  daughter  became  the  young 
minister's  wife,  and  was  happily  installed  in  the 
stone  mansion,  tlien  one  of  the  best  houses,  we  sup- 
pose, this  side  of  Newark. 


PARSONAGE   MEMORIES.  87 

That  mansion  was  to  have  a  long  history.  It 
was  to  be  occupied  about  thirteen  years  by  Mr. 
Smith  ;  then  several  years  by  others,  as  it  might 
find  tenants ;  then  thirty  years  by  another  pastor ; 
then  about  fourteen  years  by  another  ;  and  finally 
used  as  a  tenement  house  near  forty  years  more  be- 
fore its  demolition. 

What  memories  have  since  gathered  around  it ! 
There  were  life's  sweetest  pleasures.  There  were 
its  tenderest  sorrows.  It  beheld  in  turn  the  hy- 
meneal joy  and  the  mourner's  anguish.  The 
serene  happiness  of  the  fireside,  the  calm  intellect- 
ual life,  the  steady  flame  of  devotion,  all  that  is 
generous  and  grateful  in  the  charities  of  the  heart 
and  the  benefactions  of  the  hand,  had  there  a 
home.  Many  a  kind  token  found  a  silent  way  to 
its  kitchen,  its  wardrobes,  its  library.  Warm 
greetings  were  exchanged  within  its  doors.  Vigor- 
ous thoughts  were  born  in  it.  Well  beaten  oil  went 
from  it  to  the  candlestick  of  the  sanctuary.  And 
there  freedom  found  ever  an  advocate,  if  not  always 
a  shelter.  In  the  days  of  the  Eevolution  it  was  a 
mark  for  British  vengeance.  But  He  who  guards 
and  blesses  the  habitation  of  the  just,  joreserved  it 
from  the  torch  of  war  and  the  accidents  of  time  till 
more  than  a  century  of  years  had  rolled  over  it. 

There  was  one  custom  which  had  a  long  exist- 
ence in  connection  with  the  parsonage.  Once  a 
year  there  was  a  general  turn-out  of  men  and  teams 


88  WOOD-DRAWING. 

for  placing  at  the  minister's  door  a  suitable  quantity 
of  fuel.  While  the  forest  yet  waved  over  the  par- 
sonage lands,  the  invading  axe  was  directed  thither. 
When  these  were  stripped,  the  standing  wood  was 
purchased  elsewhere.  The  minister  having  con- 
tracted for  the  wood,  his  people  did  the  rest.  On 
a  day  appointed  axes  and  oxen  were  in  motion. 
The  strokes  resounded  in  the  forest.  The  roads 
were  astir.  The  pile  in  the  parsonage  yard  grew 
large  as  the  day  grew  small.  There  was  a  lively 
commotion  too  luitliin  doors,  where  the  '  better-half 
of  the  parish  provided  the  last  and  best  part  of  the 
entertainment.  A  supper  and  a  scene  of  right 
social  cheer  for  old  and  young  was  the  winding  up 
of  the  wood  frolic.  Time  and  change  have  set 
aside  this  merry  custom.  The  woodlands  have 
vanished  or  been  shorn  of  their  strength,  and  the 
blaze  of  the  old  broad  chimney  has  waned  to  the 
dull  glow  of  the  imprisoned  anthracite. 

There  was  another  species  of  wood-drawing  prac- 
tised upon  the  parsonage  lands  of  the  old  society — 
in  which  the  mountain  society  contended  for  an 
interest — that  it  was  found  no  easy  task  to  suppress. 
Vote  followed  vote  in  the  town  meetings  against 
the  trespassers,  with  little  apparent  effect.  Was 
the  plunder  stimulated  by  the  cupidity  and  jealousy 
of  contesting  claimants?  As  a  sample  of  town 
legislation  on  the  subject,  we  give  the  following : 

March  10,  1746-7. — It  was  "unanimouslv  voted, 


A   QUEER  WIND.  89 

that  whoever  shall  cut  any  wood  or  timber  on  any 
of  the  land  called  the  parsonage  land,  shall  forfeit 
for  every  cart-load,  ten  shillings,  and  so  in  propor- 
tion for  a  larger  or  lesser  quantity,  for  the  use  of 
the  poor  ;  also  to  forfeit  the  wood  and  timber,  to  be 
fetched  away  by  any  person,  for  the  use  of  the  poor  ; 
the  person  carting  the  wood  or  timber  to  "be  paid 
by  the  overseers  of  the  poor.  Joseph  Peck,  Josiah 
Lindsley,  Emanuel  Cocker,  David  Crane,  Samuel 
Plum,  and  David  Bruen,  were  chosen  to  take  care 
of  the  parsonage  lands  and  prosecute  offenders."* 

The  circumstances  of  the  parish,  when  Mr.  Smith 
entered  upon  his  labors  here,  promised  anything 
but  a  quiet  and  successful  ministry.  Disorders 
were  rife.  Not  a  week  had  passed  after  his  ordina- 
tion, when  the  following  appeared  in  a  New  York 
paper,  of  date  Dec.  5,  1748:  "We  are  informed 
from  New  Jersey  that  one  of  the  heads  of  the 
rioters  having  been  committed  to  jail  at  Newark,  a 
number  of  those  people  came  to  the  jail  on  Monday 
night  last  and  let  him  out ;  and  he  afterwards  made 
his  boast  that  a  strong  north-west  mind  blew  the  door 
off  the  hinges^  and  he  walked  out  of  prison  as  Paul 

*  A  depredation  of  another  sort,  upon  the  produce  of  the  Newark 
orchards,  is  noticed  in  a  letter  of  Gov.  Belcher  to  Col.  Low,  April 
12,  1748.  The  Governor  had  a  fortnight  before  desired  the  Colonel 
to  send  him  some  cider,  "  rich  and  potent,  without  any  spirits  put 
into  it."  Out  of  the  seven  barrels  sent,  such  a  quantity  was  drawn 
by  the  wagoners  and  others  that  it  took  all  but  seven  gallons  of 
one  to  fill  up  the  other  six.     Aualyt.  Index,  p.  227. 


90  A  pastor's  feelings. 

and  Silas  did."  We  doubt  if  the  mountain  pastor 
shared  the  feelings  of  the  liberated  prisoner  with 
respect  to  this  north-west  gale.  He  was  evidently 
a  man  of  different  temper  from  his  predecessor, 
while  we  are  not  to  judge  of  the  latter  by  the  hear- 
say accounts  repeated  and  amplified  in  proprietary 
documents.  Mr.  Smith  was  eminently  a  peace-lov- 
ing man,  and  one  who  appears  to  have  devoted 
himself  with  great  singleness  of  aim  to  the  specific 
duties  of  his  high  vocation.  Only  with  feelings  of 
anxiety  and  grief  could  a  man  of  his  spirit  have 
contemplated  the  disturbances  which  agitated  his 
parish  during  the  whole  period  of  his  connection 
with  it,  and  which  were  at  once  a  cause  and  a  conse- 
quence of  the  low  state  of  religion  that  prevailed. 
He  knew  of  course  the  state  of  things  when  he 
came  here,  but  we  do  not  doubt  that  his  whole 
personal  and  ministerial  influence  bore  in  the  direc- 
tion of  pacification  and  compromise.  His  voice, 
however,  had  not  power  to  allay  the  storm. 

In  the  July  following  the  above  incident,  the  jail 
was  again  opened  by  a  mob.  Two  prisoners  were 
in  it,  whose  friends  (so  wrote  Mr.  Alexander,  one 
of  the  ProjDrietary  Council,)  tried  to  obtain  a  commis- 
sion for  a  special  court  to  try  them  "  by  their  fellow- 
rioters  and  relatives."  Failing  in  this,  "  on  the 
15th  inst.,  in  the  dead  hour  of  the  night,  a  number 
of  people  in  disguise  came  to  and  broke  open  the 
jail,  and  lescued  the  two  prisoners.     By  their  com- 


MOKE   RIOTS.  91 

ing  in  disguise,  (the  writer  added,)  it  seems  tliey 
have  got  a  little  more  fear  and  modesty  ^than  thej 
used  to  have."     The  congratulation  was  premature. 

A  letter  written  October  14,  1749,  by  David  Og- 
den,  of  Newark,  to  James  Alexander,  discovers  to 
us  the  confusion  which  at  that  time  involved  the 
subject  of  land  claims  in  this  region,  T.he  letter 
states  that  the  bearer,  Daniel  Pierson,  a  man  well 
informed  on  the  subject,  "would  testify  that  three- 
fifths  hold  lands  under  proprietary  titles  ;  one-fifth 
have  no  pretensions  to  any  title,  and  these  were  the 
chief  destroyers  of  timber ;  and  the  other  fifth  hold 
under  Indian  titles  ;  but  not  more  than  one-third 
first  settled  their  lands  under  an  Indian  title  ;  and 
the  other  two-thirds  purchased  the  Indian  title 
within  a  few  years  then  past." 

By  this  time,  a  strong  sympathy  with  the  people 
in  their  opposition  to  the  proprietors  began  to  show 
itself  in  the  provincial  assembly.  Governor  Belcher, 
in  a  letter  to  the  Board  of  Trade,  November  27, 
1749,  complained  that  the  Assembly  of  New  Jersey, 
during  the  whole  session,  was  in  dispute  and  con- 
tention with  the  Council;  and  that  it  would  enter 
into  no  measures  to  suppress  the  riots.  On  the 
same  daj^,  David  Ogden  wrote  again  to  Mr.  Alex- 
ander at  Perth  Amboy,  relative  to  a  riot  committed 
a  fortnight  before  at  Horseneck,  when  the  house  of 
Abraham  Phillips  was  broken  open,  the  owner 
turned  out,  and  a  stack  of  his  oats  burnt ;  suggest- 


92  ARRESTS   AND   INDICTMENTS. 

ing  that  "proper  affidavits  of  this  riot  would  be 
proper  to  Accompany  our  Assembly's  representation 
home,  of  the  pacific  spirit  of  the  rioters."  In  the 
following  March,  according  to  another  letter  of  the 
Governor,  the  rioters  were  spreading  their  influence 
to  such  a  degree  that  the  legislature  seemed  to  be 
stagnated  by  it.* 

In  these  circumstances,  the  proprietors  looked  to 
the  judiciary.  Even  Governor  Belcher  was  sus- 
pected of  a  want  of  firmness.  The  courts  were 
more  reliable.  Eiots  were  followed  by  arrests,  and 
arrests  by  indictment  and  conviction.  In  1755,  at 
the  June  term  of  the  Supreme  Court,  a  large  num- 
ber of  persons  were  indicted,  and  the  records  of  the 
court  show  that  "some  of  the  good  people  of  the 
Mountain  Society  were  certainly  in  this  respect- 
able company,"'!'  Jonathan  Squier,  John  Vincent, 
Thomas  Williams,  Samuel  Crowell,  Nathaniel  Wil- 
liams, Samuel  Parkhurst,  John  Harrison,  Moses 
Brown,  Benjamin  Perry,  Levi  Vincent,  Jun.,  Josiah 
Lindsley,  Bethuel  Pierson,  Nathaniel  Ball,  John 
Baker,  Nathan  Baldwin,  Abel  Ward,  John  Dodd, 
Timothy  Ball,  Ely  Kent,  Jonathan  Davis,  Jun., 
Ebenczer  Lindsley,  Eleazer  Lamson,  Enos  Baldwin, 
Samuel  Ogden,  John  Brown,  Jun.,  Timothy  Meeker, 

*  Analyt.  Index,  pp.  251-8. 

f  S.  H.  CONGAR— to  whom  the  writer  is  indebted  for  extracts 
from  the  records.  "I  say  respectable,'' he  adds,  "for  doubtless 
they  were  generally  in  good  repute." 


SECOND   MEETING-HOUSE.  93 

Zebedee  Brown,  and  Thomas  Day,  threw  them- 
selves on  the  mercy  of  the  court.  Daniel  Williams, 
Amos  Harrison,  John  Tompkins,  Ebenezer  Farand, 
Eobert  Young,  Paul  Day,  Joseph  WilKams,  and 
Elihu  Lindsley,  were  fined  five  shillings.  "Ee- 
cognizance  £100  for  their  good  behavior  for  three 
years,  and  stand  committed  till  fine  and  fees  are 
paid." 

But  the  Mountain  Society  showed  signs  of  pros- 
perity and  progress  even  amid  these  adverse  influ- 
ences. Mr.  Smith  had  been  in  the  parish  but  a  few 
years,  when  the  erection  of  a  new  and  better  house 
of  worship  was  undertaken.  The  following  con- 
tract refers  to  the  finishing  of  the  house  the  year 
after  its  erection : 

"  Articles  of  agreement  entered  into  this  18th 
day  of  March,  1754,  between  the  committee  of  the 
Society  of  Newark  Mountains,  regularly  chosen  to 
manage  in  the  affair  of  building  a  new  meeting- 
house in  said  Society,  by  name  Samuel  Harrison, 
Samuel  Freeman,  Joseph  Harrison,  Stephen  Dod, 
David  Williams,  Samuel  Condict,  William  Crane, 
and  Joseph  Eiggs  on  the  one  party,  and  Moses 
Bakhvin  on  the  other  party ;  whereas  the  said  com- 
mittee have  bargained  and  agreed,  with  the  said 
Baldwin  perfectly  to  finish  the  said  meeting-house 
excepting  the  mason  work  which  now  remains  to  be 
done  to  the  same  ;  which  articles  of  agreement  are, 
as  to  the  most  considerable  particulars,  as  follows : 


94  CONTRACT   FOR   FINISHING. 

"1.  That  said  Baldwin  shall  faithfully  and  hon- 
estly finish  the  said  house  in  the  general,  after  the 
model  of  the  meeting-house  in  Newark. 

"2.  That  said  Baldwin  shall  find  all  the  mate- 
rials for  finishing  the  said  house,  such  as  timbers, 
boards,  sleepers,  glass,  oil  and  paint,  nails,  hinges, 
locks,  latches,  bolts,  with  all  other  kinds  of  mate- 
rials necessary  for  finishing  the  said  house  after  the 
model  aforesaid,  excepting  the  materials  for  the 
mason  work. 

"  3.  That  he  shall  seal  [ceil]  the  arch,  ends  above 
the  plate,  and  under  the  galleries,  with  white- wood 
boards,  and  paint  the  same  well  with  a  light  sky 
color. 

"  4.  That  he  shall  take  the  desk  of  the  old  pulpit 
and  so  new  model  it  that  it  shall  be  proportionable 
to  the  rest  of  the  work,  and  that  the  rest  of  the 
gum- work  be  as  the  house  in  Newark,  and  oiled. 

"5.  That  he  shall  make  six  pews,  one  on  each 
side  the  pulpit,  and  two  on  the  right  and  two  on  the 
left  fronting  the  pulpit,  with  doors  and  hinges. 

"  6.  That  he  shall  make  shutters  for  the  lower 
tier  of  windows,  painted  blue  and  white. 

"  7.  That  lie  shall  set  all  the  glass,  and  pamt  the 
sashes,  and  j)ut  springs  in  the  same  to  prevent  their 
falling. 

"8.  That  he  shall  make  a  row  of  pews  in  the 
front  gallery  next  tlie  wall. 

"9.  That  the  said  committee  shall  pay  to  the  said 


THE   COST.  96 

Baldwin  for  tiuisbiiig  the  said  meeting-house  as 
above-mentioned,  provided  he  completes  it  by  the 
first  day  of  December  next,  the  sum  of  two  hundred 
and  forty  pounds  current  money  of  this  province, 
the  payments  to  be  as  follows,  viz.;  that  he  shall 
be  paid  forty  pounds  upon  demand,  one  hundred 
pounds  more  upon  the  first  day  of  December  next, 
and  the  last  hundred  pounds  upon  this  day  twelve 
months. 

"  10.  That  the  said  Baldwin  shall  employ  any  of 
the  joiners  belonging  to  this  Society  for  so  long  a 
time  as  they  shall  chuse  to  work,  until  they  have 
paid  what  they  shall  freely  give  to  the  said  meet- 
ing-house, and  that  he  shall  allow  them  four  and 
sixpence  per  day, 

"  11,  That  the  said  Baldwin  shall  have  whatever 
he  can  get  out  of  the  old  meeting-house  that  he  shall 
work  up  into  the  new,  together  with  all  the  hooks, 
and  hinges,  and  locks. 

All  which  articles  we  whose  names  are  above 
written  do  promise  and  oblige  ourselves  faithfully 
to  perform  and  fulfil :  in  witness  whereof,  we  have 
hereunto  intercliangeably  set  our  hands  the  day  and 
year  above  written."" 

This  agreement  had  reference  to  the  carpenter 
work  upon  the  house,  the  walls  of  which  were 
stone.  The  latter  furnished  work  for  many  in  the 
parish,  who  had  doubtless  equal  privileges  with  the 

«  The  original  paper  is  preserved  by  S.  H.  Congar. 


96  helpp:rr  in  tiik  work. 

joiners.  Thus,  on  the  20th  of  March,  Samuel 
Jones  received  credit,  15  shillings,  for  six  loads  of 
rough  stone ;  David  Peck,  for  four  loads,  10  shil- 
lings ;  David  Williams  by  Davie  Taylor,  two  loads, 
8  shillings  ;  -while  Deacon  Freeman  had  7  shillings 
for  laying  sleepers  two  days,  and  Justice  Harrison, 
William  Crane,  Thomas  Williams,  Samuel  Cundict, 
Isaac  Cundict,  John  Cundict,  Stephen  Dod,  David 
Williams,  Capt.  [Matthew]  Williams,  Isaac  Wil- 
liams, Joseph  Harrison  and  others,  for  "  taking 
down  the  ceiling  of  the  old  meeting-house,"  and  for 
other  work,  were  duly  and  equally  credited  at  the 
rate  of  three  shillings  sixpence  a  day.  In  "  Justice 
Harrison's "  old  account-book  already  referred  to, 
we  find  a  series  of  charges  to  the  meeting-house  ac- 
count from  May  to  July  4th,  when,  says  the  record, 
"we  raised  the  meeting-house  galleries."  On  that 
d'ay  thirty  years  later,  another  generation  were 
raising  liberty-poles. 

By  the  autumn  of  1754,  six  years  after  Mr. 
Smith's  settlement,  the  new  house  must  have  been 
occupied  by  the  congregation.  It  was  built  for  en- 
durance, and  was  to  continue  in  use  nearly  twice  as 
long  as  its  predecessor.  It  stood  a  few  rods  farther 
west,  nearly  in  front  of  the  present  edifice. 

It  is  not  known  that  the  Second  Mecting-House 
was  ever  pictured  by  any  contemporaneous  hand. 
The  view  here  presented  was  drawn  from  descrip- 
tions furnished  bv  those  who  well  remember  it  and 


■  4iA:MS!t<^^^' 


minister's  salary.  97 

who  often  worshipped  in  it.  The  representation 
given  by  the  artist  (E.  E.  Quinbj,  Sew  York,;  Is 
said  to  be  an  accurate  one. 

Of  the  state  of  the  parish  at  this  period  we  are 
able  to  furnish  some  particulars  from  a  book  of  ac- 
counts kept  by  Mr.  Smith.  It  contains  the  names 
of  about  eighty  persons  who  are  regularly  charged 
for  their  annual  rate,  varying  from  a  few  shillings 
to  the  sum  of  two  pounds  and  upwards.  The  ag- 
gregate per  annum  was  not  far  from  £65,  or  about 
$150.*  The  rates  were  doubtless  graduated  by  the 
ci\'il  tax  list.  This  income  was  added  to  the  use  of 
the  parsonage  house  and  lands.  There  were,  how- 
ever, as  the  account  shows,  some  tardy  rate-payers, 
who  had  several  years  of  arrearages  to  settle  for 
with  Mr.  Smith's  executors,  after  his  decease. 

A  iSTew  York  paper  of  July,  1756,  notices  a 
destructive   hurricane,   from   which  some  of  Mr. 

^'  From  an  entry  made  in  1762,  it  appears  that  the  dollar  was 
then  equal  in  value  to  eight  shillings  eight  pence.  "Wlieat  was  6*. 
to  Is.  per  bushel :  oate.  2s.  &d.  ;  Indian  com,  3^  to  4».;  buckwheat, 
2?.*6<f.  to  3s. ;  flax,  9«f.  per  lb.  ;  tallow,  8<f.;  beef  (by  the  quarter; 
Zd. ;  pork,  (id.;  buner,  IQd. ;  cider,  10«.  a  barrel ;  cider  spirits,  3*. 
Gd.  a  gallon  :  a  quart  of  rum,  \od.  Jonathan  Yotmg  receiyed  Zd. 
a  yard  for  weaving  114  yards  of  cloth,  and  £1  for  weaving  two 
coverlets.  James  Wood,  alias  Gold,  received  3?.  a  day  for  cutting 
wood  at  the  door  ;  Zt.  Gd.  for  cutting  saw  logs :  4s.  for  dressing 
flax.  L^aac  Williams  had  4«.  6d.  for  a  day  in  the  meadows ;  Jedi- 
diah  Crane  2«.  6d.  for  tobacco.  For  a  dock  and  case,  Aaron  Miller 
received  £17  10?.  ($40;  :  for  cleaning  watch,  3«.  6d.  ;  for  grinding 
5  razors,  3?.  9d. 


98  A  mjitmcANE. 

Smith's  parishioners  suffered.  "  The  gust " — it 
says — "  was  felt  in  PhihideliDhia — also  in  a  very 
severe  manner  in  the  afternoon  at  Newark  Moun- 
tain in  New  Jersey,  where  the  orchards,  fences, 
cornfields,  and  woodlands,  for  about  a  mile  and  a 
half  in  length,  are  entirely  ruined,  many  large  trees 
being  broken  down  and  carried  an  incredible  dis- 
tance from  where  they  stood.  Twenty-five  houses 
and  barns  were  quite  blown  away,  among  which 
were  Samuel  Pierson's  barn  and  mill-house,  Justice 
Crane's  barn  and  part  of  his  house,  Capt.  Amos 
Harrison's  house  and  barn,  two  widows  named 
Ward,  their  houses  and  barns,  and  a  new  house  be- 
longing to  one  Dodd,  almost  finished."  One  might 
fancy  the  elements  sharing  the  agitation  of  the 
times,  and  getting  up  a  riot  on  their  own  account. 
But  we  doubt  if  the  effects  of  this  emeute  gave  as 
much  satisfaction  to  the  mountain  farmers  as  did 
those  of  the  "  north-west  wind  "  which,  seven  and  a 
half  years  before,  burst  the  doors  of  the  Newark 
jail. 

A  sadder  visitation  came  the  following  summer. 
Death  entered  for  the  first  time  through  the  doors 
of  the  stone  parsonage,  and  claimed  for  his  own, 
after  a  year  of  suffering,  the  yet  young  and  lovely 
wife,  now  the  mother  of  three  daughters.  On  the 
20th  of  August,  1757,  eiglit  years  from  his  marriage, 
Mr.  Smith  was  left  a  widower.  This  early  bereave- 
ment, which  took  from  him  a  woman  of  rare  excel- 


SANCTIFIED   SORROWS,  1)9 

lence,  very  deeply  affected  Mm.  He  thus  wrote  in 
his  diary — which  he  then  began  to  keep  with  more 
regularity,  it  "being  chiefly  a  record  of  his  religious 
exercises :  "  This  mornijjg,  a  week  ago,  a  holy  God 
was  pleased  to  make  a  wide  breach  upon  me,  in 
taking  away  the  wife  of  my  bosom  with  a  stroke  of 
his  righteous  hand.  I  have,  therefore,  thought 
proper  to  set  apart  this  day  for  secret  fasting  and 
prayer,  besides  finishing  some  part  of  my  prepara- 
tions for  the  approaching  Lord's  day ;  and  this  prac- 
tice I  am  resolved,  by  the  help  of  God's  grace,  to 
continue  upon  the  last  day  of  every  week,  without 
I  am  necessarily  prevented,  for  some  considerable 
time,  without  setting  any  particular  time.  And  I 
would  now  look  to  God,  that  he  would  by  his  grace 
so  influence  my  heart,  and  would  so  order  things 
by  his  proviJence,  that  I  may  be  enabled  to  keep 
this,  which  I  judge  in  my  present  circumstances  to 
be  a  necessary  resolution.  And  it  is  my  earnest 
prayer  to  God,  he  would  keep  me  from  a  self-right- 
eous, Pharisaic  spirit  in  regard  to  this  practice,  but 
that  I  may  engage  in  it  warmly  and  heartily,  in  the 
strength  of  God,  for  the  health  of  my  soul,  only  as 
an  appointed  means. 

"  Now,  the  work  I  have  before  me  this  day  is  in 
particular : — (1.)  To  get  my  heart  affectionately 
moved  and  touched  with  a  sense  of  the  loss  I  sus- 
tain by  the  death  of  so  dear  and  excellent  a  com- 
panion, to  the  end  I  may  be  led  to  suitable  gTief  at 


100  SECOND    MARRIAGE. 

the  cause  of  this  controversy,  which  God  hath,  and 
indeed  hath  for  a  long  time  had  with  me.  There- 
fore, (2.)  One  main  part  of  my  work  this  day  is  to 
search  after  and  find  out  my  sins,  which  have  found 
me  out  by  their  deserved  punishment,  and  in  con- 
sequence to  be  abased  and  deeply  humbled  under 
the  mighty  hand  of  God  for  them."  Another  spec- 
ification was,  to  plead  importunately  with  God 
that  his  long  and  heavy  afflictions  might  answer 
their  end  upon  him. 

This  custom  of  fasting  was  continued  to  the  end 
of  his  life.  It  is  also  stated  by  Mr.  White,  that 
"  he  was  one  among  a  number  of  ministers  in  this 
country  and  Scotland,  who  united  in  a  concert  of 
prayer  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel,  observing  Sat- 
urday evening  of  each  week,  and  the  first  Tuesday 
of  the  last  week  of  Februarj'-,  May,  August,  and 
November,  when  there  was  a  public  exereise." 

Left  with  three  young  children,  Mr.  Smith  found 
it  necessary,  after  the  death  of  his  wife,  to  employ 
a  housekeeper.  The  person  who  served  him  in  this 
capacity,  for  a  consideration  of  three  shillings  a 
week,  was  the  widow  Phebe  Eichards,  who  had  the 
care  of  his  household,  as  his  accounts  show,  from 
November,  1757,  to  June,  1759.  In  the  following 
October  he  formed  a  second  marriage  with  Eebecca, 
daughter  of  Major  Isaac  Foote,  of  Branford,  Conn. 
This  lady,  with  an  infimt  son  named  Apollos,  sur- 
vived him,  " 


EELATIONS  TO  THE  COLLEGE.       101 

In  the  latter  years  of  his  ministry,  there  was 
added  to  his  other  labors  the  task  of  giving  classi- 
cal instruction  to  a  number  of  boys.  Among  these 
we  find  the  name  of  Matthias  Pierson— the  Doctor 
Matthias  of  a  later  day,  who  was  one  of  the  first 
trustees  of  the  society  under  the  charter. 

He  was  a  patron  of  learning,  and  did  much  to 
further  the  interests  of  the  infant  college  of  New 
Jersey,  of  which  he  was  made  a  trustee  in  1750, 
and  Clerk  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  soon  after. 
Upon  the  death  of  Burr  in  1757,  whose  funeral 
sermon  he  preached,  he  was  sent  to  Stockbridge  to 
use  his  influence  in  persuading  Eev.  Jonathan  Ed- 
wards to  accept  the  presidency  of  the  college.  Af- 
ter the  decease  of  the  latter  in  the  following  March, 
he  performed  for  a  few  months  the  duties  of  the 
presidency.  During  the  summer  of  1758,  the 
choice  of  the  trustees  having  fallen  upon  Davies,  of 
Virginia,  Mr.  Smith  was  again  sent  as  one  of  a 
committee  to  use  his  personal  influence  in  giving 
effect  to  the  election.  In  this  mission  he  was  not 
immediately  successful.* 

*  His  representations  appear  to  have  had  more  weight  with 
Davies  than  with  the  presbytery  to  which  the  latter  belonged. 
Davies  wrote  (Sept.  14,  1758)  to  Cowell,  of  Trenton:  "Though 
ray  mind  was  calm  and  serene  for  some  time  after  the  decision  of 
the  presbytery  [against  his  removal],  and  I  acquiesced  in  their 
judgment  as  the  voice  of  God  till  Mr.  Smith  was  gone,  yet  to-day 
my  anxieties  are  revived,  and  I  am  almost  as  much  at  a  loss  as 
ever  what  is  my  duty If  matters  should  turn  out  so  as  to 


102  STATE   OF   KELIGION. 

He  was  one  wlio  abounded  in  the  work  of  the 
Lord.  Few  men  have  more  conscientiously  appro- 
priated the  injunction :  "  Meditate  upon  these 
things ;  give  thyself  wholly  to  them ;  that  thy  profit- 
ing may  appear  to  all." 

In  the  pulpit  he  had  little  action,  and  was  some- 
what monotonous,  yet  his  enunciation  was  clear, 
and  his  manner  aftectionate  and  forcible.  Deeply 
in  communion  with  the  word  himself,  it  fell  from 
his  lips  with  solemn  weight. 

Yet,  he  labored  with  little  apparent  fruit.  For 
this  discouraging  result  there  were  special  causes. 
The  writer  of  his  memoir  observes,  that  "  through 
the  whole  of  his  ministry  there  was  a  surprising 
deadness  in  the  things  of  religion — a  season  of  gen- 
eral backsliding  and  defection  through  the  land, 
and  his  people  partook  of  the  spreading  degeneracy, 
notwithstanding  all  his  labors  and  pains;  so  that 
there  was  no  remarkable  revival  of  religion  during 
the  time  of  his  ministry."  The  times  were  too 
troubled  for  the  success  of  the  gospel  of  peace. 
There  was  strife  at  home,  there  were  rumors  of  wars 
abroad.  Amid  the  general  confusion,  landlords 
contending  with  their  tenants,  while  the  English 
and  French  were  fighting  for  territory  on  a  larger 
scale,  and  the  treacherous  savage  was  made  more 

constrain  mo  to  come  to  Nassau  Hall,  I  only  beg  early  intelligence 
of  it  by  Mr.  Smitli,  who  intends  to  revisit  Hanover  shortly,  or  by 
post." 


CATECHIZING.  103 

treaclierous  by  the  wliite  man's  bribes,  it  is  to  us  no 
occasion  of  wonder  that  this  faithful  minister  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  should  often  have  felt  that  he  almost 
"  labored  in  vain,  and  spent  his  strength  for 
nought."  But  the  shepherd  was  needed  at  such  a 
tune,  and  his  ministry  was  not  lost.  "  He  was 
especially  blessed  in  feeding  the  lambs,  ,and  edify- 
ing the  body  of  Christ." 

In  the  religious  instr action  of  the  young,  Mr. 
Smith  took  a  peculiar  interest.  It  is  said  in  his 
memoir  that  he  "  was  abundant  in  catechetical  ex- 
ercises. He  used  sometimes  to  catechize  the  chil- 
dren of  the  family  where  he  visited ;  and  often  at 
his  lectures,  in  the  different  parts  of  the  congrega- 
tion, he  catechized  the  young  ones  present  before 
he  preached.  But  he  found  it  very  difficult  to  get 
the  youth  that  were  grown  up  to  attend  catechizing 
on  week-days.  Therefore  he  undertook  this  part  of 
instruction  on  the  afternoon  of  the  Sabbath,  when 
the  public  exercises  were  ended.  His  method 
throughout  the  summer  season  was,  to  divide  the 
young  part  of  his  charge  into  three  classes ;  children, 
young  women,  and  young  men.  The  children,  that 
is,  those  from  six  or  seven  years  of  age  to  twelve  or 
thirteen,  he  used  to  catechize  on  one  evening,  the 
young  women  on  another,  and  the  young  men  on  a 
third ;  and  at  tliose  seasons  he  generally  had  from 
fifty  to  a  hundred  of  each  class.  These  were  sea- 
sons that  he  highly  prized,  not  only  for  instructing 


104  CHARACTER  AND   INFLUENCE. 

the  young  in  the  principles  of  religion,  but  because 
he  had  sucli  special  opportunity  to  address  them  in 
particular,  upon  the  great  concerns  of  their  souls 
and  eternity.  This  practice  he  began  soon  after  his 
settlement  in  the  ministry,  and  maintained  it  to 
his  death,  and  found  great  benefit  from  it.  His 
usual  method  was,  to  ask  them  first  a  question  out 
of  the  Assembly's  Catechism,  which  he  esteemed  a 
valuable  summary  of  religious  principles,  and  then 
some  questions  contained  or  naturally  arising  from 
w^hat  he  had  asked  ;  concluding  all  in  a  practical 
address,  urging  and  exhorting  them  to  comply  with 
the  great  things  of  religion." 

Mr.  Smith  possessed  much  influence  in  the  eccle- 
siastical bodies  to  which  he  belonged.  He  was  for 
many  years  Stated  Clerk  of  the  Presbytery.  In 
debate  he  was  eas}'-,  calm,  candid.  He  was  espe- 
cially a  peace-maker,  and  was  often  happily  success- 
ful in  preventing  or  healing  differences.  His  emi- 
nent piety,  sincerity,  and  sound  judgment  combined 
to  secure  the  confidence  of  his  brethren.  To  these 
traits  were  added  great  modesty  and  a  natural 
difi&dence,  which  sometimes  made  large  crosses  of 
little  duties. 

Once,  on  his  way  to  his  residence — so  he  wrote 
in  his  journal — he  rode  part  of  the  distance  with  a 
person  whom  he  had  long  desired  to  speak  to  on  a 
point  of  moral  conduct.  "  Knowing  him  to  be  a 
man  of  pretty  rough  disposition,"  said  he,  "I  was 


EXCHANGE  WITH  TENNENT.       105 

distressed  how  to  begin,  and  anxious  what  reception 
I  should  meet  with.  However,  having  first  lifted 
up  my  heart  to  God  for  direction  and  resolution,  I 
opened  the  matter  and  dealt  plainly  and  affection- 
ately with  him,  setting  forth  the  awful  consequen- 
ces of  such  a  practice  in  reference  to  himself  and 
family,  this  world  and  another.  He  said  little  or 
nothing  until  I  was  about  to  part  with  him  on  the 
road,  and  then,  with  tears  flowing,  he  gave  me  his 
hand  and  thanked  me  over  and  over.  I  bless  God 
for  this  encouragement,  and  think  myself  much  to 
blame  I  have  not  attempted  the  same  sooner. 
I  have  several  times  undertaken  private  reproof 
with  a  fearful,  trembling  heart,  and  have  met  Avith 
a  kinder  reception  than  I  expected.  This  should 
encourage  me  to  go  on." 

The  anecdote  is  related  of  him,  that  he  once  ex- 
changed puljDits  with  Eev.  William  Tennent,  of 
Freehold.  In  the  interval  of  service  he  passed 
round  among  the  people,  shaking  them  by  the 
hand,  inquiring  after  the  health  of  their  families, 
and  winning  their  best  opinions  by  his  peculiar  ur- 
banity and  dignity  of  manners,  which  somewhat 
contrasted  with  those  of  Mr.  Tennent.  The  latter, 
on  reftirning  home,  heard  the  praises  of  Mr.  Smith 
in  every  one's  mouth.  Thinking  to  profit  by  the 
circumstance,  he.  on  the  following  Sabbath,  passed 
round  among  the  people  in  the  same  way,  bowing, 
shaking  hands,  inquiring  of  health,  and  assuming 


106  MR.  smith's  sickness. 

the  dignified  manners  of  Mr.  S.  The  thing  was  so 
evidently  a  piece  of  affectation,  that  a  man  of  his 
congregation  said  to  him,  "  Mr.  Tonueut,  yon  are 
imitating  Mr.  Smith."  ''So  I  am,"  he  replied, 
"  and  I  am  a  fool  for  it !  How  are  you .?"  resuming 
his  free  and  easy  style. 

The  parish  suAered  no  common  loss  when  this 
studious,  judicious,  amiable  and  devoted  man  was 
cut  down  in  the  early  matui-ity  of  his  piety  and 
usefulness.  In  the  first  part  of  October,  1762,  he 
was  seized  with  dysentery.  For  a  time,  his  mind 
was  somewhat  clouded,  but  as  his  illness  continued, 
his  fiiith  took  hold  of  the  promises,  and  his  peace 
and  joy  were  great  His  people  in  the  mean  time 
showed  their  interest  in  the  preservation  of  his  life, 
by  appointing  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer,  with  re- 
ference to  Ids  condition.  On  the  morning  of  the 
22d,  at  an  early  hour,  perceiving  his  end  near,  he 
called  his  family  around  him,  and  commending 
them  fervently  to  God,  took  an  affectionate  leave 
of  them.  At  his  request,  his  little  son  was  brought 
and  placed  in  his  arms.  Unable  to  lift  his  hand, 
he  desired  some  one  to  lay  it  on  the  head  of  the 
child,  for  whom  he  tenderly  invoked  the  divine 
protection  and  blessing.  His  wife,  at  his  desire, 
sung  the  last  four  stanzas  of  the  17th  of  Watts' 
Psalms : 

••What  sinners  value.  I  resign : 
lord,  'tis  enough  that  thou  art  mine; 


HIS   DEATH.  107 

I  shall  behold  thy  blissful  face, 
And  stand  complete  in  righteousness. 

"This  life's  a  dream,  an  empty  show; 
But  the  bright  worid  to  which  I  go 
Hath  joys  substantial  and  sincere; 
When  shall  I  wake  and  find  me  there? 

"0  glorious  hour!    0  blest  abode! 
I  shall  be  near  and  like  my  God! 
And  flesh  and  sin  no  more  control 
The  sacred  pleasures  of  the  souL 

"My  flesh  will  slumber  in  the  ground 
Till  the  last  trumpet's  joyful  sound  ; 
Then  burst  the  chains  with  sweet  surprise, 
And  in  my  Saviour's  image  rise." 

At  about  six  o'clock  the  same  morning,  he  ex- 
pired, at  the  age  of  thirty-eight  years  and  t€n 
months.* 

At  his  foneral,  which  was  attended  on  the  follow- 
ing Sabbath  by  a  large  concourse  of  people,  and  by 
a  number  of  ministers,  a  discourse  was  preached 
from  Philip.  1 :  21 ;  "  For  to  me  to  live  is  Christ,  and 
to  die  is  orain."  In  the  afternoon  another  minister 
preached  from  Ezek.  22 :  30  ;  "  And  I  sought  for  a 
man  among  them,  that  should  make  up  the  hedge, 

~  Two  pupils  had  the  month  before  entered  his  school,  viz.: 
John  Mitchell,  Sept.  6,  '•  to  give  a  dollar  per  week  for  board,  to 
make  some  proper  allowance  for  wood  and  candles  in  winter  be- 
sides, and  to  be  schooled  after  the  rate  of  £5  per  annum ;"  and 
Caleb  Cooper,  Sept.  13,  who  "  came  to  school  again,  to  pay,  for 
board  and  schooling,  twenty  pounds  per  annum." 


108  MEMOKIALS. 

and  stand  m  the  gap  before  me  for  the  land,  that  I 
should  not  destroy  it:  but  I  found  none." 

On  a  large  slab  over  his  grave  are  the  following 
lines : 

"  Beneath  this  tomb  the  precious  reliques  he 
Of  one  too  great  to  Uve,  but  not  to  die  : 
Indued  by  nature  with  superior  parts 
To  swim  in  science  and  to  scan  the  arts, 
To  soar  aloft,  inflamed  with  sacred  love. 
To  know,  admire,  and  serve  the  God  above  ; 
Gifted  to  sound  the  thundering  law's  alarm. 
The  smiles  of  virtue,  and  the  gospel's  charm ; 
A  faithful  watchman,  studious  to  discharge 
The  important  duties  of  his  weighty  charge. 
To  say  the  whole,  and  sound  the  highest  fame, 
He  lived  a  Christian,  and  he  died  the  same. 
A  man  so  useful,  from  his  people  rent, 
His  babes,  the  college,  and  the  churcli  lament." 

The  next  year,  1763,  there  was  published  a 
memoir  of  him  at  Woodbridge,  New  Jersey,  in  a 
pamphlet  of  about  sixty  pages,  of  which  two  or 
three  copies  are  yet  in  print.  Mr.  White,  some 
years  ago,  was  at  the  pains  to  malcc  a  manuscript 
copy  of  it,  from  which  our  quotations  have  been 
drawn. 

In  the  settlement  of  Mr.  Smith's  estate,  liis  widow 
received  in  "goods  and  money  given  by  will," 
£102;  for  "her  third  of  the  land  sold  by  vendue," 
£37  ;  upon  which,  it  being  under  lease,  a  charge 
was  made  of  £13  for  "  new  tenor  money."  This 
conveyance  included  "all  her  goods  she  brought "  at 


REV,    AZEL    ROF.  109 

her  marriage,  now  valued  at  £89.  Parishioners  in 
arrears  for  rates  had  to  settle,  by  note  or  payment, 
with  the  executors,  of  whom  Joseph  Kiggs  was  the 
one  on  whom  the  business  chiefly  devolved.* 

His  library  was  sold  at  auction.  A  part  of  the 
books  were  purchased  bj  j\Irs.  Smith,  ai).d  a  part 
by  Rev.  Azel  Roe,  a  young  clergyman  who  studied 
theology  with  Mr.  S.,  and  who,  the  next  year, 
(1763)  married  the  widow,  and  was  settled  at  Wood- 
bridge.f 

Thus  ended  a  ministry  of  fourteen  years — a  short 

'^  See  "Caleb  Smith's  Book  of  Accounts."  On  page  110  there 
is  a  charge  made  by  the  executors,  in  an  account  with  Mrs.  Smith, 
for  butter  received  of  Deacon  Thom2}son.  We  find  no  other  men- 
tion of  this  officer. 

f  Dr.  Roe  preached  at  Woodbridge  till  his  death,  in  1815.  He 
was  twenty-nine  years  a  trustee  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey ; 
was  a  member  of  the  First  General  Assembly,  in  1789,  and  moder- 
ator of  that  body  in  1803.  His  zeal  for  American  freedom  was 
such,  that  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution  the  British  and  Tories  plan- 
ned his  capture,  and  with  McKnight  of  Shrewsbur}',  he  was  carried 
away  a  prisoner.  In  fording  a  stream,  the  officer  who  seized  him, 
and  who  treated  him  witli  great  politeness,  insisted  on  carrying 
him  over.  He  consented,  and  as  he  was  crossing  on  the  officer's 
shoulders,  he  observed — for  he  was  a  man  of  ready  wit — "  Well, 
sir,  if  never  before,  you  can  say  after  this  that  you  were  once  priest- 
ridden."  The  joke  so  convulsed  the  officer  with  laughter,  that  he 
came  near  letting  him  fall  into  the  stream. — Spragiic^s  Annals. 
Mrs.  Roe,  by  her  second  marriage,  became  the  mother  of  two  sons 
and  six  daughters.  Apollos,  the  son  of  Mr.  Smith,  "on  reaching 
manhood,  went  to  the  Sontli,  and  was  never  heard  of  by  his 
friends." —  Wehster. 

6 


110  SERMONS   PUBLISHED. 

introduction  to  one  higher,  more  glorious,  and  eter- 
nal. 

Two  productions  of  his  pen  were  published;  an 
"  Exhortation  to  the  people,"  delivered  at  Con- 
necticut Farms,  in  1750,  at  the  ordination  and  set- 
tlement of  Daniel  Thane ;  and  the  funeral  sermon 
of  President  Burr,  1757. 


CHAPTER  V. 

REV.   JEDEDIAH   CHAPMAN. 

A  YEAR  passed.  In  December,  1763,  a  messen- 
ger from  tlie  Mountain  Society  was  on  Ms  way 
to  Betlilehem,  Connecticut,  bearing  two  letters  to 
Rev.  Joseph  Bellamy.*  The  first,  dated  the  23d,  was 
written  by  Rev.  Alexander  McWhorter,  then  four 
years  a  pastor  in  Newark,  and  contained  the  fol- 
lowing:  "I  have  here  wrote  you  by  the  bearer,  at 
the  appointment  of  the  Presbytery,  in  behalf  of  the 
church  of  Newark  Mountains,  and  I  hope,  sir,  you'll 
recommend  them  to  some  young  man  whom  you 
esteem  for  his  knowledge  of  the  truth  ;  and  don't 
send  us  one  of  your  Antinomicms  or  Arminians, 
neither  send  us  any  of  your  Sandemanians ;  we 
hear  you  have  several  such  in  New  England,  but  I 
am  ajoprehensive  very  few  of  them  thoroughly  un- 
derstand Sandeman's  scheme.  I  thank  you,  sir,  for 
the  few  remarks  you  have  given  us  upon  this  in- 

*■■'  See  the  Bellamy  correspondence,  Pres.  His.  Soc,  Phila. 


112  LETTERS   TO   DR.    BELLAMY. 

genious  and  subtle  writer. .  .The  messenger  is  in 
baste." 

Six  days  later,  December  29,  Mr.  Joseph  M. 
White  wrote  from  Danbury,  Connecticut:  "The 
bearer  of  these  are  in  pursuit  of  a  candidate.  They 
are  from  Newark  Mountains;  probably  you  are 
acquainted  with  that  place,  and  what  sort  of  man 
would  be  like  to  do  good  among  them.  In  that 
country  they  insist  very  much  on  a  man's  being  a 
good  speaker,  and  they  hate  the  New  England 
tone  (as  they  call  it)  ;  they  insist  likewise  upon 
one  that  is  apt  to  be  familiar.  But  most  of  all,  'tis 
necessary  that  a  man  be  a  man  of  religion  and  good 
principles,  in  order  to  be  useful  among  them.  They 
seem  to  be  a  kind,  curiious  people,  and  willing  to 
support  the  ministry."  The  results  of  the  journey 
and  the  recommendations  are  not  known. 

A  year  later,  Mr.  Bellamy  was  again  addressed  : 

Newark,  Dec.  19,  1764. 
"  Eev'd  Sir : — The  church  at  Newark  Mountains 
have  represented  to  us  their  very  unanimous  desire 
to  obtain  Mr.  Daniel  Hopkins  to  settle  with  them 
in  the  gospel  ministry,  for  which  they  have  desired 
our  approbation  and  assistance.  We  therefore  do 
earnestly  desire  that  you,  sir,  would  use  your  influ- 
ence with  Mr.  Hopkins  to  return;  assuring  him 
that  we  not  only  concur  with  the  people,  but  are 
very  solicitous  he  may  listen  to  their  call.     'Tis  a 


DANIEL    HOPKINS.  113 

cliurch  we  esteem  of  great  importance,  and  hope 
there  may  be  much  service  done  here  to  the  Re- 
deemer's king-dom.  And  they  seem  so  hopely 
[happily  ?]  united  in  Mr.  Hopkins,  that  we  think 
the  door  is  effectually  opened  to  him.  We  doubt 
not  yon  will  engage  his  worthy  brother  and  your 
other  brethren  to  favor  the  call  of  the  church,  who, 
as  well  as  we,  place  much  dependence  on  your  in- 
terest. And  as  we  are  not  particularly  acquainted 
with  your  constitution,  we  desire  that  you  would 
act  for  us,  if  any  application  to  the  association  be 
necessary,  that  he  may  come  in  a  regular  way. 

We  are,  Eev'd  Sir,  with  due  respect,  your 
hearty  friends  and  fellow-servants. 

By  the  order  and  in  behalf  of  the  Presbytery, 
James  Caldwell, 
Alex'r  McWhorter." 

Mr.    Hopkins   was   then   a   licentiate,  in   feeble 

health,  so  that  he  divided  his  time  between  manual 

labor,   travelling,  and   occasional  preaching.     The 

state  of  his  health  probably  caused  him  to  decline 

.  the  offered  settlement.* 

*  Dr.  Hopkins  went  two  years  later  to  Salem,  Mass.,  where, 
after  teaching  and  preaching  for  twelve  years,  he  was  settled  in 
the  pastoral  office,  and  died  in  1814,  in  the  81st  year  of  his  age. 
His  abihties  and  patriotism  led  to  his  election,  in  1775,  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Provincial  Congress.  His  theological  sentiments  were 
those  of  his  brother  Samuel,  with  whom  he  pursued  his  ministe- 
rial studies,  and  to  whose  writings  he  was  an  acknowledged  con- 
tributor.    He  was  thirty  years  of  age  when  invited  to  this  church. 


114  MR.  chapman's  settlement. 

For  another  year  and  a  half  the  mountain  flock 
were  without  a  shepherd.  The  Chief  Shepherd  was 
putting  their  lessons  of  faith  in  exercise.  In  due 
time  his  care  was  manifest. 

On  the  10th  of  April,  1766,  Eev.  James  Caldwell, 
of  Elizabethtown,  wrote  to  Mr.  Bellamy :  "  Yester- 
day Mr.  Chapman  was  examined  for  ordination, 
and  received  parts  of  trial.  His  answers  were  well 
accepted.  He  did  honor  to  his  tutor  and  his  senti- 
ments. The  Presbytery  were  highly  pleased.  The 
congregation  at  Newark  Mountains  are  much  satis- 
fied, except  in  his  delivery  and  something  as  to  the 
manner,  particularly  the  management  of  his  voice, 
and  his  dwelling  rather  too  long  upon  one  thing, 
which  is,  or  seems  like,  repetition.  I  should  not 
write  this,  only  I  know  you  are  his  friend  and  may 
befriend  him.     We  love  him  much." 

This  was  Jedediah  Chapman,  a  theological  pupil 
(we  suppose)  of  Bellamy.  He  was  born  in  East 
Haddam,  Connecticut,  September  27,  1741;  being 
a  descendant  in  the  sixth  generation  of  Hon.  Eobert 
Chapman,  of  Hull,  England,  who  came  to  America 
in  1635,  and  settled  at  Say  brook.  Graduating  at 
Yale,  in  1762,  he  received  license  two  years  after- 
wards, and  having  preached  here  as  a  candidate  in  the 
spring  of  1766,  was  ordained  and  settled  over  the 
church  on  the  22d  of  July.  The  call  was  not  unani- 
mous, but  the  field  had  now  been  vacant  almost  four 
years,  and  we  can  easily  credit  the  statement  that  the 


HIS   MARRIAGE.  115 

congregation  generally  were  "rnucli  satisfied"  at 
seeing  in  their  pulpit  again  a  youthful,  energetic, 
and  promising  pastor.  He  was  neither  Antinomian, 
Arminian,  nor  Sandemanian;  his  oratory,  though 
it  did  not  escape  criticism,  proved  acceptable  ;  and 
though  bred  a  Congregationalist,  he  was  to  do  a 
work  for  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  tobequeath 
to  it  a  posterity  that  would  place  his  name  upon 
its  records  among  tJie  fathers. 

He  entered  the  parish  in  his  twenty-fifth  year 
unmarried,  and  poor.  We  make  the  latter  state- 
ment on  the  authority  of  tradition,  which  represents 
that  the  attention  of  his  parishioners  was  at  first 
divided  somewhat  between  the  wants  of  his  ward- 
robe and  the  word  that  he  preached.  It  was  enough, 
however,  that  he  was  clothed  with  salvation.  They 
could  furnish  the  rest. 

About  the  second  year  after  his  settlement,  he 
entered  into  matrimonial  relations,  and  the  stone 
parsonage  was  again  the  minister's  home.  The 
lady  he  married  was  Miss  Blanche  Smith,  a  Hu- 
guenot on  her  mother's  side,  and  of  a  family  that 
intermarried  with  the  Adamses  of  Massachusetts.  He 
had  by  this  marriage  three  children,  viz, :  William 
Smith,  Eobert  Hett,  and  John  Hobert,  the  last 
djdng  (April  30,  1773)  at  the  age  often  weeks  and 
four  days.  The  others  are  still  remembered  as  ju- 
venile associates  by  some  of  our  aged  citizens.* 
*  Eobert  Hett  Chapman,  bom  at  Orange,  March  2,  1771,  gradu- 


116  WANT   OF   SUPPORT, 

Mr.  Chapman  had  not  long  been  settled  and  mar- 
ried^ before  he  began  to  be  straitened  in  his  means 
of  support.  Writing  to  his  friend.  Dr.  Bellamy,  in 
April,  1772,  he  said :  "I  have  been  on  the  very  point 
of  breaking  with  this  people  on  the  account  of  their 
withholding  my  support,*  but  this  seems  to  be  in 

ated  at  the  College  of  New  Jersey  in  17S9,  received  license  in 
1793,  and  after  an  extensive  missionary  tour  in  the  Southern  States, 
in  which  he  labored  several  months  without  compensation,  was  set- 
tled at  Eahwaj^,  in  1796.  In  1811  he  was  elected  President  of  the 
University  of  North  Carolina.  He  entered  upon  the  duties  of  the 
presidency  the  next  year,  and  discharged  them  till  1817,  to  the 
great  advantage  of  the  institution.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  June 
18,  1833,  he  was  a  pastor  in  Tennessee.  The  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Divinity  was  given  him  by  "Williams'  College,  in  1815.  He  mar- 
ried Hannah  Arnette,  of  Elizabethtown,  New  Jersey,  and  had  a 
family  of  twelve  children,  of  whom  seven  survived  him.  Among 
them  is  Eev.  Robert  H.  Chapman,  D.  D.,  of  Asheville,  N.  C. — 
Sprague  s  Annals,  4,  95. 

*  Bellamy,  in  1764,  had  been  in  the  same  condition.  In  appeal- 
ing to  his  society  for  relief,  he  reminded  them  of  a  declaration 
made  by  him  twenty-four  years  before,  when  their  call  was  before 
him :  "  I  do  not  intend,  if  I  should  be  a  minister,  to  work  for  my 
living,  or  quarrel  for  my  living.  I  am  not  willing  to  settle  in  the 
■work  of  the  ministry,  unless  I  may  give  myself  wholly  to  it,  and  I 
fear  you  are  not  able  to  maintain  a  minister."  To  which  their 
committee  replied :  "  It  is  just  such  a  minister  we  would  have,  and 
do  you  settle  among  us  and  you  shall  never  want."  Now,  he  re- 
minds them  of  the  straits  and  difficulties  he  went  through  for 
many  years,  when  they  were  very  poor.  The  appeal  resulted  in  a 
pledge  of  "  £80  lawful  money,  to  be  paid  in  money  at  or  before  the 
12th  day  of  March,  annually:"  and  "sufficient  firewood,  in  the 
same  manner  we  have  done  in  years  past." 

About  the  same  time,  (1768,)  Sam\iel  Hopkins,  of  Great  Barring- 


REVIVALS.  117 

some  measure  got  over  now."  The  excellent  char- 
acter given  them  bj  Mr.  White,  of  Danbury,  had  to 
be  taken,  it  would  appear,  with,  some  allowance. 
We  may  infer,  however,  that  the  delinquency  was 
not  general,  nor  of  long  continuance.  In  the  same 
letter  he  wrote  :  "  My  people  seem  to  be  iij  a  very 
languid  state  in  religious  respects,  though  of  late 
there  seem  to  be  more  promising  appearances. 
There  has  been  a  considerable  revival  of  religion 
at  Elizabethtown.  Our  college  also  has  been  visited 
again  in  a  remarkable  manner  by  the  spirit  of  God, 
which  I  understand  has  been  general — in  which,  I 
am  informed,  God  has  improved  Mr.  Bradford  as 
an  instrument  of  great  good  to  the  boys.  I  have 
had  a  very  pressing  invitation  to  visit  them,  which 
I  hope  to  have  it  speedily  in  my  power  to  comply 
with.  Mr.  Edwards'  sentiments  make  surprising 
progress  there."  * 

ton,  wrote  to  Bellamy :  "  There  is  no  prospect  of  my  being  main- 
tained by  my  people.  I  must  go  to  farming,  or  leave  them.  But 
where  shall  I  go  ?  Where  is  there  a  clergyman  who  is  well  main- 
tained ?  Where,  then,  is  there  a  congregation  that  will  maintain 
me  ?  Let  such  an  one  be  found,  where  there  is  a  prospect  of  use- 
fulness, and  I  am  ready  to  go.  I  have  a  great  aversion  to  go  into 
worldly  cares,  but  begin  to  suspect  I  am  called  to  it." 

*  It  was  otherwise  in  Scotland,  to  which  (as  we  learn  from  the 
letter  quoted  in  the  preceding  note)  Hoi^kins  sent,  in  1767, 
Edwards'  Life,  Sermons,  and  Dissertations,  by  the  desire  of  a  Mr. 
Hogg.  This  gentleman  dying  before  the  books  arrived,  they  had 
no  sale,  and  were  sent  back  with  forty  shillings  cost.  "I  am  told 
few  of  the  impression  have  gone  off.  Mr.  Kneeland's  house  is  full 
of  them,  which  mu.st  soon  be  sold  for  waste  paper." 
6* 


118  DEATH   OF   HIS   WIFE. 

Four  months  later  (Aug.  14)  he  sent  a  letter  to 
Bellamy  by  a  "  Mr.  Perriam,  who  was  formerly 
a  tutor  at  Princetowu  college ;  "  introducing  him 
as  "a  very  ingenious  young  gentleman,  I  trust  a 
truly  pious  and  humble  Christian,  one  whom  I 
greatly  love  and  esteem — a  steady,  zealous  friend 
to  truth.  He  comes  with  a  design  to  spend  some 
time  in  the  study  of  divinity  with  you,  and  I  trust 
that  on  acqmaintance  with  him  you  will  be  jDleased 
to  think  it  of  great  importance  to  encourage  and 
forward  him."  He  also  hoped  that  Bellamy 
would  think  it  a  matter  of  no  small  importance  to 
abridge  and  reprint  his  treatise  on  True  Religion. 
"  We  have  our  hearts  (said  he)  much  set  upon  it."  ^ 

This  correspondence  favors  the  opinion  that  he 
had  himself  studied  with  the  distinguished  Con- 
necticut divine. 

But  a  discipline  of  another  kind  now  awaited 
him.  On  the  21st  of  November,  1773,  a  few 
months  after  the  decease  of  their  infant  son,  Mrs. 
Chapman  was  removed  by  death,  in  her  29th  year. 
The  parsonage  was  again  a  house  of  mourning.  A 
double  sorrow  had  fallen  upon  the  heart  of  the 
young  pastor.  By  the  hand  of  the  engraver  it  was 
stereotyped  for  posterity  to  read  in  the  following 

lines : 

For  Ihce  in  death,  thou  one  so  dear. 

Each  conimoa  friend  will  drop  a  tear, 
«  Between  the  dates  of  these  letters  (July  12,  IT 72)  died  Joseph 
Peck,  the  senior  elder  and  deacon  of  the  church,  at  the  age  of  70 


SECOND   MARRIAGE.  1  19 

But  what  can  ease,  0  what  cau  lieai 
Pangs  which  a  kinder  husband  feel, 
When  thus  the  young,  his  joy,  the  just, 
Consume  and  moulder  into  dust  ? 
Those  balsams  Faith  alone  cau  give, 
Which  tells  us  that  the  dead  shall  live, 
^        That  Death  his  conquest  shall  restore, 
The  just  shall  meet  and  part  no  more. 

The  ministers  of  Jesus  need  affliction.  How 
sliall  tliey  lead  others  to  springs  of  consolation  from 
which  themselves  have  never  drawn  ?  And  so  the 
Master  sends  them  forth,  as  He  went  often  Himself, 
weeping — sowing  in  tears  that  they  may  reap  in  joy. 
Mr.  Chapman,  like  his  two  predecessors,  saw  the 
wife  of  his  young  affections  laid  in  an  early  grave. 

His  second  wife  was  Margaret,  daughter  of  Dr. 
Peter  Le  Conte,  of  Middletown,  Conn.  This  lady, 
who  was  slightly  his  senior  in  years,  adorned  to  a 
good  old  age  the  station  she  was  called  to  fill.  She 
came  to  it  at  a  critical  time.  The  first  notes  of 
American  independence  were  sounding.  She  was 
to  share  not  onlj^  the*  anxieties  of  the  pastor,  but 
the  perils  of  the  patriot.'^ 

^'  The  date  of  their  marriage  is  not  known  to  the  writer.  Their 
children  were  Peter  Le  Conte  (born  Jan.  8,  1718);  John  Thomas 
(born  April  24,  1779) ;  Valeria  Maria  (bora  Feb.  23,  1784).  The 
first,  who  became  a  lawyer,  dropped  the  name  of  Chapman  to  pre- 
serve the  name  of  his  mother.  He  had  three  sons  and  four  daugh- 
ters, but  his  sons  are  dead,  leaving  no  children  to  perpetuate  the 
name.  Mrs.  Chapman  died  at  Geneva,  Sept.  9,  1812 — the  autumn 
before  her  husband's  death — in  her  74th  year. 


120  SAMUEL   HARRISON. 

Just  at  this  time  an  aged  man  of  the  parish,  with 
whose  name  the  reader  is  familiar,  closed  the  con- 
flicts of  a  long  life.  We  refer  to  Samuel  Harrison. 
Born  in  1684,  half  a  life-time  before  the  parish  had 
a  separate  existence,  he  had  seen  its  beginning  and 
aided  its  growth.  On  the  6th  of  April,  1748,  when 
he  was  sixtj-four  jxars  of  age,  and  when  the  first 
pastor  of  the  church,  several  years  his  junior,  had 
just  been  buried,  he  set  his  house  in  order  for  his 
own  departure  by  making  his  will.  Yet  he  lived 
to  follow  another  pastor  to  his  grave  at  the  end  of 
fourteen  years,  and  was  not  followed  to  his  own 
rest  till  yet  another  fourteen  was  added.  On  the 
loth  of  September,  1776,  when  a  national  contest 
was  taking  the  place  of  that  land  controversy  in 
which  he  had  been  a  somewhat  conspicuous  actor, 
at  the  age  of  almost  ninety-three,  he  passed  away. 
It  was  twenty-eight  years  after  the  making  of  his 
will,  in  which,  after  the  distribution  of  his  real 
estate  betwen  his  sons  Amos,  Samuel,  and  Mat- 
thew, he  gave  to  the  second-named  a  yoke  of 
oxen,  ahorse,  and  his  young  riding  mare;  "also 
a  horse  colt  one  year  old."  We  may  doubt 
whether  even  the  yearling  lived  to  be  interested  in 
the  execution  of  the  will.  The  "  team  tackling," 
given  to  Samuel  and  IMatthew,  "to  be  equally 
divided,  as  they  do  agree,"  could  hardly  have  fur- 
nished by  this  time  any  occasion  of  strife.  As  to 
the  "pale  white  brindle  cow  with  wjiite  head,'' 


DANGERS   GATHERING.  121 

given  to  "Jane  Bunel,"  and  another  brindle  cow 
devised  to  Abigail  Sliores,  "  witli  two  suits  of  ap- 
parel, one  for  Sabbath-day,  and  one  for  every-day 
wear,  with  a  Dutch  spinning-wheel  and  a  Bible,  to 
her  and  her  heirs  and  assigns  forever,  as  a  reward 
for  her  service,"  these  tokens  of  grateful  remem- 
brance and  benevolent  forecast  (the  Bible  excepted) 
must  have  proved  of  small  avail  to  the  legatees, 
supposing  them  still  alive.  A  blind  providence  is 
man's  !  But  it  is  more  commonly  death,  and  not 
life,  that  deranges  his  plans  and  disappoints  his 
good  intentions.* 

In  the  revolutionary  struggle,  Mr.  Chapman 
espoused  warmly  the  American  cause.  His  bold- 
ness in  defending  the  Eevolution  made  enemies  of 
those  who  opposed  it,  and  more  than  once  were 
plans  laid  for  conveying  him  to  the  British  camp. 
Soldiers  were  sent  to  his  house  to  capture  him,  but, 
more  fortunate  than  Roe  and  McKnight,  his  minis- 
terial compatriots,  he  eluded  them.  Freedom's 
sentinels  were  around  him  to  give  a  timely  signal 
when  danger  was  seen,  and  under  the  shield  of 
that  Providence  which  favored  our  country's  arms, 

^"  A  number  of  persons  have  attained  to  great  longevity  in  this 
parish.  Samuel  Harrison  reached  his  93d  year.  His  sister  Elea- 
nor, (Mrs.  Ebenezer  Lindsley,)  lived  to  100  years  and  two  months. 
His  son  Samuel  (above  named,  and  who  lived  unmarried)  reached 
his  92d  year.  Mrs.  Martha,  widow  of  Jedediah  Freeman,  died  in 
1831,  in  her  100th  year.  Several  members  of  the  church  now 
living  are  almost  ninety. 


122  THE   REVOLUTION. 

ke  received  no  harm.  Yet  he  was  obliged  several 
times  to  flee  the  parish, — seeking  a  temporary  asy- 
lum behind  the  mountain  S;  as  did  many  of  the 
families  who  composed  his  flock. 

In  November,  1776,  the  American  army  under 
Washington,  then  reduced  to  three  thousand  five 
hundred  men,  and  fast  diminishing,  was  retreating 
through.  New  Jerse}''.  Crossing  the  Passaic  at  Ac- 
quackonoc  Bridge,  it  came  down  the  river  to  New- 
ark, and  there  rested  six  days,  till  threatened  by 
Cornwallis,  who  was  on  its  track.  As  it  left  New- 
ark, the  place  was  entered  by  a  British  force  of  six 
thousand  men. 

The  whole  vicinity  was  now  traversed  by  for- 
aging parties  and  troops  sent  out  for  plunder.  The 
Hessians  were  particularly  dreaded  for  their  merci- 
less depredations  and  cruelties.  A  company  of 
those  mercenaries  came  in  this  direction  from 
Bloomfield.  A  few  of  the  party,  riding  in  ad- 
vance, promised  protection  to  such  of  the  inhabi- 
tants as  should  remain  in  their  houses.  If  the 
people  fled,  as  many  did,  they  afterward  returned 
to  find  their  houses  and  farmyards  thoroughly 
stripped.  Nor  were  the  plunderers  over  scrupu- 
lous to  discriminate  between  friends  and  foes. 

The  following  incidents  are  yet  remembered.  A 
Mr.  James  Jones,  of  Bloomfield,  hearing  of  the 
approach  of  the  British  army,  loaded  hastily  his 
wagon  with  such  articles  as  were  most  valuable,  and 


A  SKIRMISH."  123 

was  about  starting  for  the  mountain  with  his  family, 
when  the  enemy  came  upon  him.  The  captured 
family  were  taken  to  New  York,  where  they  re- 
mained till  the  end  of  the  war.  They  afterward 
went  to  jSTova  Scotia. 

Cornelius  Jones,  a  brother  of  the  man  just  named, 
was  living  near  "  the  Junction,"  (East  Orange,) 
where  his  son,  Mr.  Cyrus  Jones,  yet  resides.  His 
house  was  plundered,  and  his  hogs  and  cattle  taken 
by  the  Hessians,  the  family  having  temporarily  left 
the  premises. 

After  their  return,  a  skirmish  occurred  a  little 
east  of  their  residence,  on  the  hill  by  Judge  John 
Peck's,  between  several  Highlanders  and  three 
Americans,  whose  names  were  John  Wright,  John 
Tichenor,  and  Joshua  Shaw.  Wright  and  his 
party  having  muskets,  while  the  others  had  only 
swords,  ordered  the  latter  to  lay  down  their  weap- 
ons. This  was  done,  but  as  the  men  with  the  mus- 
kets came  within  reach,  the  swords  were  dexterously 
caught  again  and  laid  upon  them  with  bloody  effect. 
The  captors  were  now  the  vanquished,  and  were 
left  upon  the  ground  badly  wounded,  while  the 
Highlanders  retreated  to  the  army.  It  was  about 
noon.  The  same  afternoon  a  company  of  the  ene- 
my returned.  They  came  to  the  house  of  Mr. 
Jones  in  search  of  "the  three  rebels,"  whom  his 
nephew,  Moses  Jones,  had  in  the  meantime  taken 
upon  a  sled  and  removed  to  their  homes  in  the 


124  THE   BRITISH  IN   ORANGE. 

present  neighborhood  of  Biker's  store,  Doddtown. 
Not  finding  them  at  the  house,  they  set  a  guard 
over  Mrs.  Jones,  while  they  took  her  husband  to 
the  barn  to  renew  the  search.  As  they  were  thus 
engaged,  the  nephew  returned  with  his  team  and 
sled,  which  was  covered  with  the  blood  of  the 
wounded  men.  The  affair  ended  in  the  two  Joneses 
going  to  Newark  as  prisoners.  They  were  released 
the  following  day.  The  uncle  was  afterward  in  the 
battle  of  Springfield,  where  he  narrowly  escaped 
death  by  a  cannon  ball. 

A  division  of  the  American  army,  as  it  receded 
from  the  approach  of  Cornwallis,  is  said  to  have 
passed  through  Orange.  Turning  down  the  road 
now  known  as  Scotland  street,  it  was  just  out  of 
sight  when  a  detachment  of  the  enemy  appeared. 
Two  men  from  over  the  mountain  were  coming 
into  the  village.  The  British  officer  in  command 
inquired  of  them  if  the  American  troojDS  had  passed 
that  way.  Being  answered  in  the  affirmative,  he 
asked  if  they  were  a  numerous  force.  "  Yes,"  said 
one  of  the  mountaineers,  "  the  woods  in  that  direc- 
tion are  full  of  them."  Fearing  an  ambuscade,  the 
officer  desisted  from  pursuit. 

Tlie  British  force  then  encamped  in  the  old  bury- 
ing-ground.  Two  boys — Adonijah  Harrison  and 
David  Lyon — who  lived  up  the  valley  near  "  Tory 
Corner,"*  resolved  upon  having  a  sight  of  the  en- 

*  'riiis  place  received  its  designation  from  a  number  of  families 


TWO   YOUNG   ADVENTURERS.  125 

campment.  So  passing  across  the  swamp  and  over 
the  hill  Avhere  St.  John's  (Catholic)  church  now 
stands,  they  had  just  leaped  the  fence  which  di- 
vided the  forest  from  an  open  field,  when  they 
found  themselves  in  alarming  proximity  to  some 
soldiers  who  were  lounging  on  the  grass.  "  Oh  ! 
oh  !"  exclaimed  the  boys,  while  a  mischievous  sol- 
dier added  to  their  fright  by  discharging  a  pistol. 
Prudence  now  prevailed  over  curiosity.  Scram- 
bling over  the  fence  with  all  conceivable  agility, 
they  ran  homeward  for  dear  life,  quite  cured  of  the 
disposition  for  martial  adventure. 

The  mountainous  range  that  divides  the  town- 
ship of  Orange  was  the  limit  of  the  enemy's  incur- 
sions in  this  direction.  Behind  it  large  numbers 
of  the  exposed  inhabitants  took  refuge,  with  such 
property  as  they  were  able  to  remove^  The 
mountain  also  served  another  purpose.  A  tall  tree 
which  now  lifts  itself  conspicuously  above  the  line 
of  its  summit,  is  said  to  mark  the  spot  where  tele- 
graphic signals  with  New  Yoi'k  were  given  and 
received. 

who  then  resided  in  that  vicinity.  Many  worthy  and  excellent  peo- 
ple were  conscientiously  opposed  to  the  struggle  for  independence. 
Some  of  them  left  the  country  during  the  war,  suffering  the  confis- 
cation of  their  property  as  the  penalty  of  their  principles.  Others 
finally  gave  in  their  adhesion  to  the  new  government. 

*  Those  who  remained  at  their  homes  obtained  a  "  protection  " 
—as  it  was  called — from  the  British  officers,  as  persons  friendly  to 
their  cause. 


126  THE   MOUNTAIN   SENTINELS. 

From  the  top  of  the  mountain  the  movements  of 
the  enemy  were  carefully  watched.  Sometimes  the 
latter  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  valley,  would 
also  discover  the  reconnoitering  party,  and  salute 
them  with  a  well  aimed  discharge  of  their  artillery. 
On  one  occasion,  when  Captain  Jonathan  Condit 
and  his  company  were  thus  keeping  watch  on  the 
hill-top,  some  shots  from  the  old  burying-ground 
swept  through  the  forest  quite  near  them.  '■'■Con- 
sarn  it^''  exclaimed  Capt.  Jonathan,  "  liow  careless 
the  fellows  do  shute  /*  The  captain  and  his  broth- 
ers David,  John,  and  Daniel,  lived  in  the  valley 
between  the  first  and  second  mountains.  His  neph- 
ew. Dr.  John  Condit,  was  a  surgeon  in  Washing- 
ton's army,  and  afterwards  a  member  of  Congress. 

The  drafts  made  upon  the  Newark  militia  from 
time  to  time  took  many  from  their  farms  in  this 
part  of  the  town.  An  order,  dated  Newark,  Aug. 
29,  1777,  and  signed  by  Samuel  Hayes,  was  ad- 
dressed to  Captain  Williams,  or  the  ofi&cer  com- 
manding in  his  absence,  to  detach  his  proportion  of 
men  to  relieve  those  on  duty  there,  whose  month 

*  From  what  is  said  of  him,  we  suppose  this  Yankee  impreca- 
tion "was  about  the  nearest  approach  to  proflinity  of  which  he  was 
capable.  He  was  a  conscientious  church-goer,  and  in  his  old  age. 
being  poor,  and  having  no  vehicle  but  an  ox-cart,  he  and  his  wife 
rode  regularly  to  church  in  that.  But  not  caring  to  show  it,  he 
would  stop  as  he  entered  the  village,  hitch  his  cattle  to  a  tree, 
(which  stood  in  front  of  Mr.  Patterson's  present  residence  in  Main 
street,)  and  thence  walk  to  the  house  of  God. 


DRAFTS  AND   FINES.  127 

was  just  expiriDg ;  also  to  meet,  with,  his  subal- 
terns, "  at  the  house  of  Captaiu  Pierson,  to-morrow 
at  three  o'clock  P.  M.,  to  appoint  officers  for  said 
detachment ;"  the  same  "  to  be  marched  into  this 
town  on  Sunday,  at  three  o'clock  P.  M." 

There  were  some — tories  of  course — upon  whom 
these  orders  were  ineffectual.  "  At  a  court-martial 
held  at  Newark  Mountain,  July  7,  1780,  at  the 
house  of  Samuel  Munn,  for  the  trial  of  several 
persons,  soldiers  in  Col.  Philip  V.  Cortlandt's  regi- 
ment, Essex  county  militia,  belonging  to  Capt* 
Thomas  Williams'  company,  being  charged  for 
disobeying  orders  and  not  turning  out  on  their 
proper  tour  of  duty  the  20th  day  of  June  last,  and 
on  the  alarm  the  23d  of  June,  and  for  desertion  ; 
agreeably  to  an  act  of  the  Governor,  Council  and 
General  Assembly  in  that  case  made  and  provided, 
entitled  an  act  for  the  more  effectual  defence  of  the 
State  in  case  of  invasion  or  incursion  of  the  ene- 
my :"  the  court  having  met,  according  to  order, 
found  three  persons  guilty  of  the  above  charges, 
and  unanimously  agreed  to  fine  them  in  the  fol- 
lowing sums  :  Jonathan  Williams,  £500  ;  Charles 
Crane,  £200 ;  Joseph  Tomkins,  £3  15s.  The  pre- 
siding officer  was  Captain  Josiah  Pierson,  the  other 
members  of  the  court  being  Captains  Thomas  Wil- 
liams, Isaac  Gillam,  Henry  Jarolamah ;  Lieuten- 
ants Henry  Squier,  John  Edwards ;  Ensigns  Kem- 
ington  Parcel,  Thomas  Baldwin,  Ralph  Post. 


128  FIGURES   SOMETIMES   LIE. 

The  reader  may  think  the  cause  was  not  likely 
to  suffer  much  by  derelictions  so  dearly  paid  for. 
But  the  adage  that  "  figures  do  not  lie."  has  its 
falsifications  in  our  Eevolutionary  history.  By  the 
act  of  June  9,  1780,  about  a  month  before  these 
penalties  were  laid,  the  legislature  had  estimated 
the  currency  of  the  State  "  at  the  rate  of  one 
Spanish  milled  dollar  in  lieu  of  forty  dollars  of  the 
bills  now  in  circulation."  Daring  the  winter  of 
that  year,  while  the  army  lay  at  Morristown,  Gen- 
erals Washington,  Green,  Knox,  and  others,  sub- 
scribed for  the  expenses  of  a  ".dancing  assembly  " 
at  the  rate  of  $400  (equal  to  $10)  apiece.  So  de- 
preciated was  the  currency,  as  stated  by  the  officers 
of  the  Jersey  line  in  a  memorial  addressed  by  them 
to  the  Legislature,  "  that  four  months'  pay  of  a 
soldier  would  not  procure  for  his  family  a  single 
bushel  of  wheat ;"  and  "  the  pay  of  a  colonel 
would  not  purchase  oats  for  his  horse."  These 
facts  will  correct  any  extravagant  opinion  the 
reader  may  have  formed  of  the  atonement  ren- 
dered by  the  above  delinquents. 

A  contest  so  nearly  approaching  the  character 
of  a  civil  war  must  have  been  highly  disastrous  to 
the  churches.  This  was  peculiarly  the  case  in 
those  parts  of  the  country  in  which,  as  in  New 
Jersey,  the  heat  of  the  excitement  was  most  intense- 
Friends  were  made  enemies,  families  were  divided, 
brother  rose  against  brother,  those  who  had  walked 


EFFECTS   OF  THE   WAR.  129 

together  in  loving  fellowship  met  as  foes  on  the 
battle-field,  or  were  identified  with  hostile  camps. 
The  patriot  whose  prayers  were  with  the  Ameri- 
can army,  was  denounced  as  a  rebel  and  his  cap- 
ture sought  by  some  neighbor,  now  a  refugee  under 
the  British  flag.  The  honest  refugee  was  in  turn 
denounced  as  a  traitor,  whose  blood  it  would  be  a 
virtue  to  shed.  The  tragic  fate  of  Stephen  Ball  is 
yet  remembered,  who  having  carried  four  quarters 
of  beef  to  the  British  encampment  on  Staten  Island, 
under  a  general  promise  of  safety  to  all  who  would 
bring  supplies  to  the  army,  was  seized  by  a  band 
of  bloody-hearted  refugees,  taken  across  to  Bergen 
Point,  and  hung  with  ten  minutes'  grace,  the  mur- 
derers having  tried  in  vain  to  effect  his  arrest  by 
the  British  officers. 

The  end  of  the  war  was  the  auspicious  beginning 
of  a  new  and  happier  era. 

This  occurred  in  1782.  The  country  was  full  of 
rejoicing,  and  no  class  of  its  citizens  hailed  the  event 
with  heartier  joy  than  the  ambassadors  of  a  gospel 
of  peace.  With  what  thankfulness  did  they  see 
their  scattered  flocks  returning,  and  the  stir  and 
strife  of  arms  succeeded  by  quiet  industry  and  peace- 
ful worship  ! 

Mr.  Chapman  had  seen  the  hearts  of  his  people 
bitterly  alienated  from  each  other,  and  many  of  them 
from  himself,  by  the  war.  The  issue  of  it  was, 
however,  in  his  favor.     God's  arm  had  been  mani- 


130  LIBERTY  AND   THE   CLERtiY. 

festly  outstretched  to  give  victory  to  the  cause 
which  he  had  boldly  vindicated.  Certain  members 
of  the  parish,  who,  during  the  war,  had  refused  to 
identify  themselves  with  what  they  viewed  as  a  re- 
bellion, now,  that  the  fact  of  independence  was 
established,  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  new 
government. 

The  voices  of  the  clergy  on  the  subject  of  free- 
dom did  not  cease  to  be  heard  when  the  cause  was 
won.  As  they  had  stimulated  the  patriotism  of 
their  countrymen,  and  invoked  the  aid  of  Provi- 
dence, during  the  struggle,  so  they  now  contributed 
to  enlighten  the  people,  as  to  the  nature  of  true 
liberty,  and  the  way  to  preserve  and  perpetuate  it. 
Among  no  class  of  professional  men  were  public 
speakers  more  sought,  or  more  ready  to  take  a  lead- 
ing part  in  patriotic  celebrations.  Mr.  Chapman 
"jDlayed  the  orator"  on  many  such  occasions.*  On 
almost  any  Fourth  of  July,  he  might  have  been 
seen  Avith  the  military  and  civic  procession,  as  it 

*  It  is  less  common  now,  as  there  is  less  need,  for  ministers  o 
the  Gospel  to  perform  such  an  office.  The  writer  has  done  it 
twice ;  in  his  native  town  (while  preparing  for  the  ministry)  in 
1843,  and  at  Orange,  in  1859.  On  the  last  occasion  he  adcb-essed 
from  three  to  four  hundred  citizens,  mostly  native  residents,  in 
Lihrary  Hall,  several  of  the  clergy  of  the  place  being  present. 
"  The  Christian's  prayer  for  his  Country"  was  eftectively  sung  by 
the  choir  of  the  day.  Prayer  is  a  proper  clement  of  patriotism, 
and,  it  is  hoped,  will  ever  accompany,  as  it  yet  does,  the  exercises 
of  our  national  celebration. 


PARISH   INCORPORATED,  131 

moved  from  the  Common,  along  the  main  road, 
toward  tlie  meeting-house,  to  the  sound  of  fife  and 
drum ;  and  often  did  lie  stand  at  Eeligion's  altar  to 
lead  the  devotions  of  Christian  freemen,  when  the 
task  of  expounding  their  liberties,  and  fanning  the 
■patriotic  flame,  was  assigned  to  others.  There  are 
men  yet  with  us  who  remember  those  occasions, 
and  who  received,  at  his  lips,  some  of  their  earliest 
lessons  of  political  wisdom.  In  the  division  of 
parties  that  followed  the  war,  he  was  known  as  a 
Federalist, 

Measures  were  soon  taken  to  incorporate  the 
parish,  which  had  now  been  organized  more  than 
sixty  years  without  a  charter ;  its  property  being 
held  in  trust  by  private  individuals,  for  the  benefit 
of  the  cono;re2;ation.  The  Leo-islature,  then  held  at 
Burlington,  being  petitioned  on  the  subject,  passed 
an  act,  June  11,  1783,  incorporating  Joseph  Riggs, 
Esq.,  John  Range,  Doctor  }.fatthiasPierson,  Stephen 
Harrison,  Jun,,  Samuel  Pierson,  Jun.,  Samuel  Dodd, 
and  John  Dodd,  a  Board  of  Trustees,  the  church 
now  receiving  the  name  of  "  The  Second  Presby- 
terian Church  in  Newark,"  Their  tenure  of  ofl6.ce 
was  perpetual,  and,  in  case  of  vacancies,  by  death 
or  removal,  the  power  of  appointing  their  succes- 
sors was  conferred  upon  the  "  minister  or  ministers, 
elders  and  deacons  of  the  church."  The  power 
also  extended  to  the  displacement  of  a  trustee, 
whenever  the  said  minister  or  ministers,  elders  and 


132  OATH    OF   TRUSTEES. 

deacons,  or  the  majority  of  them,  should  judge  his 
removal  proper  and  for  the  benefit  of  the  corpora- 
tion. The  trustees  were  required  to  be  persous  of 
the  congregation,  and  the  number  was  limited  by 
the  statute  to  seven. 

Bach  trustee,  in  assuming  office,  took  the  follow- 
ing oaths :  1,  I  do  solemnly  swear  I  do  not  hold 
myself  bound  to  bear  allegiance  to  the  King  of 
Great  Britain.  2.  I  do  solemnly  profess  and  swear 
that  I  do  and  will  bear  true  faith  and  allegiance  to 
the  Government  established  in  this  State,  under  the 
authority  of  the  people.  3.  An  oath  to  execute 
well  and  truly  the  duty  of  a  trustee,  agreeably  to 
the  true  intent  and  meaning  of  the  charter.  It  was 
a  three-fold  cord,  not  easily  broken,  and  which 
shielded  the  important  trust  from  all  suspicion  of 
disloyalty  to  freedom.  The  charter  required  these 
oaths  to  be  taken  and  subscribed  by  "  each  and 
every  of  the  trustees  herein  appointed,  and  their 
successors  ;"  agreeably  to  "  an  Act  for  the  security 
of  the  Government  of  New  Jerse}^,"  passed  Sep- 
tember 19,  1776. 

The  trustees  being  duly  qualified  before  John 
Peck,  Esq.,  at  the  parsonage  house,  the  22d  of  Sep- 
tember, organized  by  appointing  Joseph  Riggs  pres- 
ident, and  John  Eange  clerk.  Mr.  Riggs  "  de- 
livered in  a  book,  formerly  the  property  of  the 
Rev.  Caleb  Smith,  in  order  for  the  trustees  to  keep 
their  accounts  in  f  and  the  charter  was  carefully 


ORAJSTGE   SLOOP.  133 

copied  into  the  same  bj'  the  Clei'k.  The  President 
of  the  Board  removed  to  New  York  the  same 
autumn,  when  Jonathan  Hedden  was  elected  his 
successor. 

This  charter,  which  gave  tlie  whole  appointing 
power  to  the  Church  session,  (for  the  deacons  were 
at  that  time  venerable  select  men  within  the  elder- 
ship,) proved  unacceptable  to  the  people.  Its  lead- 
ing provision  was  not  in  harmony  with  the  spirit 
of  the  times.  In  consequence  of  the  "  great  un- 
easiness and  dissatisfaction"  which  it  occasioned, 
the  Legislature,  agreeably  to  a  petition  of  the  con- 
gregation, so  amended  it,  June  3,  1790,  as  to  make 
"  all  regular  supporters  of  the  Grospel  in  said  con- 
gregation" electors  in  the  appointment  of  trustees^ 
The  election  was  to  be  made  annually,  on  the  sec- 
ond Thursday  in  April,  by  a  plurality  of  voices.* 
The  charter  of  the  parent  church  received  a  similar 
amendment  four  years  afterward.  "We  see  in  these 
changes,  the  gradual  working  and  extension  of 
the  principle  of  popular  suffrage — a  principle  which, 
apparently,  has  not  yet  reached  the  limit  of  its  ex- 
pansion in  our  national  system. 

In  the  course  of  the  year  1784,  the  project  of 
the  "  Orange  Sloop"  was  formed.  The  jolan  was, 
to  buy  or  build  a  boat,  to  be  used  for  the  benefit  of 
the  parish,  running  from  Newark  to  Albany  and 

*  The  time  was  changed,  iu  1829,  to  the  first  day  of  January, 
and  in  1856,  to  the  second  Monday  iu  April. 

7 


134  ORANGE   ACADEMV. 

otlier  ports.  Subscriptions  for  the  purpose  Laving 
been  circulated,  it  was  resolved,  at  a  parish  meeting, 
to  build  a  boat,  for  which  a  committee  of  three 
managers  was  chosen.  The  craft  was,  in  due 
time,  launched,  upon  its  useful  mission,  the  parish 
receiving  one-third  of  the  profits.  The  income 
from  this  source  was  from  forty  to  sixty  pounds  a 
year. 

Closely  following  this  enterprise  was  another,  of 
more  vital  and  lasting  importance  to  the  parish. 
This  was  the  founding  of  a  public  school,  long 
known  as  the  Orange  Academ3^  Incipient  meas- 
ures were  taken  at  a  meeting  of  the  parish,  of 
which.  Deacon  Bethuel  Pierson  was  Moderator,  held 
in  April,  1785.  Mr.  Chapman,  Doctor  John  Con- 
dit,  Doctor  Matthias  Pierson,  and  four  others,  were 
appointed  a  committee  to  select  the  location  and 
obtain  subscriptions.  A  site — one-tenth  of  an  ncre — 
was  obtained  of  Matthew  Condit.  In  the  follow- 
ing January,  the  same  three  persons,  Vidth  Josiab 
Hornblower,  Esq.,  and  Bethuel  Pierson,  were  chosen 
trustees.  A  substantial  two-story  building  of  brick 
and  stone  was  put  up,  in  v/liich  a  joarochial  school 
of  higli  grade  was  soon  in  successful  operation. 
Mr.  Chapman's  name  uniformly  headed  the  list  of 
trustees,  who  were  appointed  annually,  and  his  love 
for  sound  learning,  as  well  as  sound  doctrine,  made 
bim  an  efficient  patron  of  the  institution.  The 
building,   whicb  has  passed  to  other  uses,  is  jet 


watts'  psalmody.  135 

standing,  in  good  condition,  on  Main  street,  oppo- 
site tlie  cliurch. 

At  tlie  annual  meeting  of  tlie  parish,  in  January, 
1785,  "  a  move  was  made  by  Mr.  Samuel  Pierson, 
that  tliere  were  not  a  sufficient  number  of  musical 
clerks  for  the  convenience  of  public  worship ;"  and 
"  it  was  agreed  to  by  the  major  part,  that 'jSTathaniel 
Crane,  John  Dodd,  Jun.,  Aaron  Munn  and  Joseph 
Ward,  shall  assist  in  that  office."  The  custom  still 
continued  of  reading  the  lines  as  the  psalm  was  sung. 

"Watts'  psalmody  was  now  in  use.  The  time  of 
its  introduction  is  not  known.  As  early  as  1763, 
"  sundry  members  and  congregations,"  within  the 
bounds  of  the  Synod,  had  adopted  it,  and  the  Synod 
had  "  no  objection  to  the  use  of  said  imitation  by 
such  ministers  and  congregations  as  incline  to  use 
it,  until  the  matter  of  psalmody  be  further  con- 
sidered." The  subject  was  renewed  in  that  body 
several  years  without  any  decisive  action  upon  it. 

In  the  old  society  of  Newark  there  was,  in  the 
year  1784,  "the  commencement  of  a  very  great  and 
lasting  revival  of  religion."  It  was  a  pleasing  re- 
action from  the  sad  condition  of  things  j)roduced 
by  the  war — a  troubled  sea  in  which  the  piety  and 
hopes  of  large  numbers  of  supposed  Christians  had 
foundered.  More  than  a  hundred  souls,  according 
to  Dr.  Griffin,  were,  by  this  awakening,  added  to 
that  church,  the  heavenly  influence  spreading  till  it 
pervaded  the  whole  community.     It  can  scarcely 


136  CALDWELL  CHURCH. 

be  doubted  that  the  congregation  bere  received  a 
refreshing  from  such  a  cloud.  But  as  Ave  liave  no 
record  of  admissions  prior  to  1786,  it  is  only  a  sub- 
ject of  conjecture. 

The  coincidence  is,  however,  to  be  noted,  that 
simultaneously  with  that  revival  a  new  church 
sprang  into  life,  which  must  have  taken  from  this 
the  larger  portion  of  its  constituent  members.  This 
was  the  church  at  Ilorseneck,  about  seven  miles 
farther  in  the  interior,  which  was  organized  by  Mr. 
Chapman,  the  pastor  of  this  church,  December  3, 
1784.  Forty  persons  united  in  its  covenant.  This 
movement  favors  the  inference  just  stated,  that  the 
religious  interest  which  was  manifesting  itself  in 
Newark,  was  not  confined  to  the  banks  of  the  Pas- 
saic. Eternal  things  were  coming  back  to  their 
place  in  the  thoughts  and  feelings  of  the  people 
through  the  settlements.  In  February,  1787,  the 
new  parish  was  incorporated  "by  the  name  and 
style  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  at  Cald- 
well."* 

*  This  name  is  commemorative  of  Rev.  James  Caldwell,  D.  D., 
pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Elizabethtown,  and  chaplain 
in  the  revolutionary  army.  He  was  shot,  for  reasons  unknown, 
by  an  American  sentinel,  who  was  hung  for  the  deed.  His  wife 
was  shot  througli  the  window  of  her  sitting-room,  in  the  midst  of 
her  children,  by  a  British  soldier.  Their  granddaughter,  the  second 
wife  of  Rev.  John  E.  Freeman,  of  Futtchgurh,  India,  was  one  of 
the  martyr  missionaries,  in  the  great  mutiny  of  1857.  She  was 
sliot  upon  tho  jiarade  ground  at  Cawuporo. 


PARSONAGE   LANDS.  137 

The  reader  is  already  informed  of  an  endow- 
ment of  two  hundred  acres  of  land,  gi\anted  to  the 
town  of  Newark,  by  the  original  proprietors,  for 
ecclesiastical  use.     In  process  of  time,  as  the  civil 
and  religious  affairs  of  the  town  were  separated, 
and  new  religious  societies  were  formed,  these  lands 
became  a  source  of  much  contention.     The  Moun- 
tain Society  and  the  Episcopal  Church  demanded  a 
division,   claiming  for  themselves  an  equal   share 
with  the  First  Society.     The  latter  had  the  legal 
title  to  sustain  it  in  claiming  the  whole.     From 
1760  onward,  the  subject  was  agitated  in  almost 
every  town-meeting.     Votes  were  passed,  and  then 
reversed,  as  the  opposite  parties  happened  to  be  in 
the  majority.     In  March,  1761,  "  at  a  very  full  and 
public  town-meeting,"  it  was  "  voted  and  agreed 
that  the  said  lands,  granted  by  said  letters  patent 
to  lie  for  a  parsonage,  be  equally  divided  in  quantity 
and  quality,  exclusive  of  the  improvements  made 
thereon,   among   said  three  societies  or  congrega- 
tions."    Bethuel  Pierson  and  five  others  were  "ap- 
pointed agents  to   divide  and  allot  said  lands  to 
said  societies,  and  to  apply  to  the  Governor,  Coun- 
cil and  General  Assembly,  to  confirm  the  same  by 
a  law."     In  this  committee,  those  who  represented 
the  old  society  refused  to  act,  and  the  trustees  of 
that   society  entered  their  protest  on   the   record. 
The  measure  was  thus  frustrated,  and  the  strife 
prolonged.     In  1784,  the  year  of  the  revival,  just 


138  THE  NAME — ORANGE. 

noticed,*  the  animosity  was  quieted  by  a  compro- 
mise, the  new  societies  receiving  a  dividend  of  the 
lands,  but  holding  them  under  lease,  as  tenants  at 
will.  In  May  of  that  year,  a  lease  was  given  to 
the  trustees  of  this  parish  of  eighty-six  acres  and 
sixty-hundreths  of  an  acre. 

The  settlement  near  the  mountain  had  begun,  at 
this  time,  to  assume  the  character  of  a  village,  and 
to  be  known  by  the  name  it  now  bears.  By  whom, 
or  from  what  circumstance  the  name  was  first  be- 
stowed, we  have  no  means  of  ascertaining.  The 
Presbytery  of  New  York,  as  its  records  inform  us, 
met  at  Orange  Dale^  in  October,  1785.     Two  years 

*  Not  in  1786  or  ItST,  as  given  by  Dr.  Stearns,  (p.  226,)  on  the 
authority  of  Dr.  McWhorter.  We  find  the  above  date  in  an  orig- 
inal paper,  preserved  by  the  trustees  of  this  parish,  from  -which, 
and  other  papers  in  their  possession,  we  gatlier  also  the  following 
facts,  which  may  as  well  be  presented  here.  The  lease  given  "  on 
or  about  the  10th  of  May,  1784,''  to  be  continued  at  will,  was 
revoked  by  the  Newark  trustees,  acting  under  instructions  from 
that  Society,  May  20,  ITDV.  The  controversy  was  thus  revived. 
In  1802,  another  conveyance  was  made,  by  lease,  of  fifty-six  acres, 
lying  between  Newark  and  Orange,  the  terms  of  the  lease  being, 
that  it  should  be  renewed  at  the  end  of  each  twenty-one  years,  for 
ever  ;  the  lessees  paying  an  annual  rent  of  sixpence,  if  demanded. 
It  was  accordingly  renewed,  in  1823.  This  was  the  only  title  the 
old  Society  could  give  under  the  original  grant.  But  having,  in 
1825,  applied  to  the  Legislature  for  a  special  act,  enabling  them  to 
convey  the  land  in  fee  simple,  such  an  act  was  passed,  and  a  deed 
of  the  said  fifty-six  acres  was  given  to  the  Orange  Society,  August 
29,  1826,  which  ended  the  matter.  The  land  has  long  ceased  to 
be  the  property  of  the  parish. 


SYNOD  OF  1787.  139 

later  an  acre  of  ground,  conveyed  to  the  parish  by 
Isaac  WilHams — "  for  £15,  current  money  of  ]S[e\r 
Jersey" — was  described  in  the  deed  as  "lying  in 
the  bounds  of  Newark,  aforesaid,  at  a  place  called 
Orangey  It  was  bought  for  the  parish  by  Matthew 
Pierson,  in  exchange  for  an  acre  taken  by  him  from 
the  parsonage  lot.  From  that  period  we  fii;id  the  two 
names  in  apparent  competition  till  1806,  when,  the 
town  of  Orange  being  formed  and  christened  by 
the  authorities  of  the  State,  the  village,  now  raised 
to  metropolitan  dignity,  lost  the  romance  of  its 
name,  if  not  its  romantic  surroundings. 

Nineteen  years  before  this  latter  event,  an  im- 
portant dignity  was  conferred  upon  our  village 
pastor.  By  the  Synod  of  1787  he  Avas  elected  to 
preside  over  its  proceedings.  It  was  the  last  meet- 
ing of  the  Synod  previous  to  the  formation  of  the 
General  Assembly.  This  appointment  is  evidence 
that  Mr.  Chapman  had,  at  this  time,  won  an  honor- 
able and  influential  standing  in  the  Presbyterian 
body.  At  the  next  convocation,  when  the  Synod 
was  about  to  be  divided  into  four,  under  a  higher 
and  broader  organization,  he  preached  the  opening 
sermon  from  Ephesians  iv.,  3,  4 — "  Endeavoring  to 
keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace — 
there  is  one  body."  The  discourse,  which  was 
published,*  was  an  able  and  well-timed  exhibition 

"  Mr.  Chapman  published,  also,  live  sermons  on  baptism.  That 
preached  before  the  Synod,  with  discourses  bj  his  son  and  grand- 


140  MK.  chapman's  sermon. 

of  these  points :  That  the  church  of  Christ  on  earth 
is  one  body  ;  that  there  is  a  glorious  foundation  in 
the  church  of  Christ  for  unity  and  peace;  and, 
thirdly,  some  of  the  ways  in  which  this  unity  is  to 
be  kept. 

The  following  passage  in  the  sermon  shows  a 
catholic  spirit,  and  contains  a  suggestion  which  has, 
since  that  time,  been  carried  into  effect  in  more 
ways  than  one :  "  I  would  beg  leave  just  to  suggest 
here,  should  some  general  plan  of  mutual  inter- 
course, in  brotherly  love,  with  all  the  churches  of 
Christ  throughout  the  world,  be  formed  and  carried 
into  execution,  in  the  spirit  of  our  text,  whether  it 
would  not  have  a  most  happy  tendency  to  heal  the 
present  divisions  of  the  church,  preserve  the  peace 
and  unity  of  the  body,  and  generally  promote  the 
prosperity  and  welfare  of  the  common  cause." 
This  feeling,  which  was  vigorously  working  and 
spreading,  was,  ere  long,  to  give  birth  to  those 
great  cooperative  measures  which  belong  to  the 
church  history  of  the  present  century,* 

son,  is  preserved  by  the  Pres.  Hist.  Society,  in  a  small  volume 
presented  by  the  grandson. 

*  Mr.  Chapman  had  then  just  taken  part  in  forming  the  "  So- 
ciety in  Morris  County,  for  the  promotion  of  Learning  and  Relig- 
ion ;"  a  humble  pioneer  of  the  education  societies  which  have 
since  sprung  up.  It  received  its  charter  in  the  latter  part  of  May, 
1787,  about  a  week  after  Mr.  C.  was  chosen  to  moderate  the 
Synod.  The  first  trustees  were,  Benjamin  Howell,  "William  Ross 
and  Joseph  Harrison,  Esquires  ;  Jacob  Green,  Jedediah  Chapman, 


TILLAGE.  141 

From  the  records  kept  by  the  Trustees  of  the 
parish  during  this  period  we  select  the  following 
items : 

It  was  voted,  January  12,  1786,  that  Stephen 
Harrison,  Esq.,  do  provide  a  good  box  or  chest,  with 
a  lock,  to  contain  the  books  and  public  writings 
belonging  to  this  parish. 

March  12.  Yoted,  that  Cornelius  Jones  be  paid 
four  shillings  a  load  for  six  loads  of  stone  used  at 
the  parsonage  well.  Also,  that  any  person  getting 
stone  on  the  parsonage  lands  allotted  for  this  parish 
shall  pay  into  the  hands  of  Deacon  Amos  Baldwin, 
treasurer,  the  sum  of  one  shilling  the  load.  Also, 
that  the  old  parsonage  field  may  be  plowed  for  a 
crop  of  buckwheat  the  ensuing  summer,  and  that 
the  parish  receive  every  fifth  bushel  free  from  all 
expense,  except  some  person  will  give  more. 

October  12.     Voted,  that  the  buckwheat  for  the 

Amzi  Lewis,  Joseph  Grover,  David  Baldwin,  and  Stephen  Monson . 
This  Society  still  exists,  with  a  fund  invested  in  the  banks  of  New- 
ark and  Orange,  from  which  it  has  a  revenue  of  nearly  $300  per 
annum.  Three  young  men  are  receiving  aid  from  it,  in  prepara- 
tion for  the  ministry.  The  present  trustees  (the  sole  representa- 
tives of  the  Society)  are,  Rev.  E.  Seymour,  Pres.  ;  Eev.  J.  M. 
Sherwood,  Kcv.  J.  S.  Gallagher,  Eev.  John  Ford,  Eev.  James 
Hoyt,  Zophar  B.  Dodd,  W.  S.  Baldwin,  Charles  R.  Day,  and  John 
Provost.  Five  of  the  Board  reside  in  Bloomfield,  where  its  semi- 
annual meetings  are  usually  held.  The  project  of  the  Society  is 
believed  to  have  originated  in  the  old  Morris  County  Presbytery, 
(not  now  in  existence, )  which  was  organized  on  the  union  principle 
by  Presbyterians  and  Congregationalists. 
7* 


142  COLLECTING  RATES, 

rent  of  tlie  parsonage  land  is  to  be  converted  to  the 
use  of  the  whole  parish.  Also,  that  the  price  for 
the  buckwheat  shall  be  two  shillings  and  sixpence 
per  bushel. 

January  15,  1787.  Voted,  that  the  widow  of 
William  Matthews  have  the  care  of  opening  the 
meeting-house  and  sweeping  the  same,  and  taking 
all  the  care  respecting  it  that  those  formerly  ap- 
pointed for  that  purpose  had,  for  the  sum  of  one 
pound  two  shillings  and  sixpence  for  three  months. 

During  the  next  year,  John  Tichenor  received 
the  sum  of  fourteen  shillings  for  pulling  down  an 
old  oven  and  building  a  new  one  in  the  parsonage. 
In  the  following  year  the  "  old  parsonage  field  "  was 
put  again  to  buckwheat,  the  parish  to  have  "  every 
fourth  bushel,  if  nobody  will  give  more." 

In  1791,  it  was  voted,  that  Aaron  Munn  do  go 
through  the  parish  and  settle  with  all  delinquents 
respecting  Mr.  Chapman's  rates,  and  make  report  to 
the  Board  of  Trustees ;  for  which  service  he  was  to 
have  a  reasonable  compensation  from  the  funds  of 
the  parish,  agreeable  to  a  vote  of  the  same.  In 
June  of  that  year,  Deacon  Baldwin  resigning  the 
treasury,  twenty  shillings  were  voted  to  his  daugh- 
ter Esther  "  for  her  services  as  treasurer  for  a  num- 
ber of  years."  In  November  it  appeared  that  Mr, 
Munn  had  spent  six  da3's  in  collecting  rates,  for 
which  he  was  rewarded  in  the  sum  of  as  many 
shillings  per  day,  for  "him  and  horse." 


RINGING   BELL.  143 

It  appears  that  some  of  the  then  acting  board  of 
trustees  put  an  easy  construction  upon  their  oath 
of  office;  for  in  January,  1792,  we  find  the  board 
adjourning  to  meet  again  on  the  oOth  of  said  month, 
at  Samuel  Munn's,  at  sundown,  "  on  forfeiture  of  six 
pence."  This  little  addition  to  the  weight  of  official 
responsibility  appears  to  have  wrought  the  needed 
reform.  At  the  day  and  hour  specified,  the  whole 
board  was  present. 

The  burying-ground  was  this  jear  let  out  for 
pasture  to  Josiah  Quinby  at  six  shillings.  It  was 
also  enlarged  by  the  purchase  of  about  two  acres 
of  ground  from  the  executors  of  the  estate  of 
Simeon  Ogden.  The  meeting-house  and  parsonage 
received  repairs,  the  former  being  newly  roofed. 

In  1795,  Josiah  Quinby  was  engaged  to  ring  the 
bell  through  the  }' ear  on  Sabbath  and  lecture  days 
for  £3  105 ;  Bethuel  Pierson  to  ring  it  at  nine 
o'clock  every  evening,  for  £4 ;  the  widow  Martha 
Davison  "to  sweep  the  meeting-house  and  keep  it 
clean  all  the  year"  for  £4  10-5.  The  teacher  of  the 
Academy  had  liberty  to  ring  the  meeting-house  bell 
for  the  use  of  the  school.  The  parish  about  this 
time  received  a  legacy  of  fifly  pounds  from  the 
estate  of  Job  Tompkins. 

'  The  following  advertisement  in  "Wood's  Newark 
Gazette  and  New  Jersey  Advertiser"^"  of  June  10, 
1795,  indicates  that  "  building  lots"  and  "  boarders" 

*  JSr.  J.  Hist.  Soc.  Librarr. 


1-iJ:  BUILDING   LOTS. 

were  beginning  to  figure  in  the  business  nomencla- 
ture of  the  village. 

"  To  BE  SOLD, 
By  way  of  public  vendue,  on  Saturday  the  25tli 
of  July,  twenty-three  building  lots,  pleasantly  sit- 
uated in  Orange  Dale,  on  the  main  road,  opposite 
the  meeting-house,  and  adjoining  the  Academy. 
Four  of  said  lots  have  a  never-failing  stream  of 
water  running  through  them,  which  renders  them 
convenient  for  the  tanning  business.  On  one  of  said 
lots  there  is  a  well  of  excellent  water,  and  likewise 
a  number  of  good  fruit-trees  dispersed  through  the 
different  lots,  all  of  which  are  fronting  a  road, 
which  renders  them  convenient  for  both  mercantile 
and  mechanical  business.  They  are  situated  in  a 
very  flourishing  part  of  the  country,  and  would  be 
very  convenient  for  any  person  or  joersons  Avho  may 
wish  to  take  in  boarders. 

Matthew  Condit. 

Joseph  Cone. 

N.  B.  Scythe-makere,  nailers  and  silversmiths 
will  find  it  tend  greatly  to  their  interest  to  settle 
themselves  and  carry  on  their  business  in  this  place, 
as  they  are  much  wanted." 

The  following  appears  in  the  same  publication. 
"  The  Academy  at  Orange  Bale 
Opened  on  Tuesday  the  17th  inst.,  under  the  im- 
mediate instruction  of  Mr.  Wvckoff,  who  has  taught 


ACADEMY  ADVERTISEMENT.  145 

the  English  and  learned  languages,  the  arts  and 
sciences  in  this  place  with  approbation  and  success 
for  a  number  of  years.  Those  who  choose  to  send 
their  children  to  this  institution  may  be  assured 
that  great  care  and  attention  will  be  paid  both  to 
their  education  and  morals,  under  the  attendance, 
direction  and  influence  of  a  board  of  trustees  annu- 
ally chosen  by  the  parish  for  that  purpose. 

Jedediah  Chapman", 
Orange,  May  24,  1796.  PresH:'' 

The  expenses  of  instruction  are  not  given ;  but 
in  an  advertisement  of  the  Newark  Academy  pub- 
lished at  the  same  time,  and  signed  by  "  Alexander 
McWhortei',  minister  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church,"  and  "  Uzal  Ogden,  rector  of  Trinity 
Church,"  we  have  the  English  langaage,  writing, 
arithmetic,  and  public  speaking  taught  for  $2  per 
quarter;  geography,  book-keeping,  Latin,  Greek, 
and  the  mathematics,  for  $3.25 ;  French  by  a  native 
for  one  guinea.* 

*  Nothing  is  said  of  religion  ia  these  advertisements.  In  the 
Newark  Academy,  under  the  joint  control  of  two  denominations, 
the  use  of  catecliisms  was  impracticable.  The  Orange  Academy 
was  more  properly  a  parish  institution,  and  the  Synod  of  IT 66  had 
enjoined  "  that  special  care  be  taken  of  the  princij^les  and  charac- 
ters of  schoolmasters,  that  they  teach  the  Westminster  Catechism 
and  Psalmody;  and  that  the  ministers,  church-sessions,  and  fore- 
said committees,  (where  they  consistently  can.)  visit  the  schoola 
and  see  these  things  be  done."  This  recommendation,  made  nineteen 


146  A  REFBESHING. 

It  was  voted  b}^  the  parish  three  years  before 
this,  that  "the  public  exhibitions  of  the  Academy 
school  may  be  held  in  the  meeting-house."  About 
the  same  time  shade  trees  were  ordered  to  be 
planted  around  the  sanctuary, 

A  gentle  shower  of  reviving  influence  appears  to 
have  fallen  on  the  Church  at  this  time.  The  num- 
ber of  persons  brought  into  its  communion  does 
not  indicate,  however,  a  deep  and  general  awaken- 
ing. According  to  an  old  register  of  baptisms  and 
admissions  to  the  Lord's  table  kept  by  Mr.  ChajD- 
man,  and  which  (dating  from  1786)  has  escaped  the 
accidents  of  more  than  seventy  years,  the  additions 
by  profession  in  1796  and  the  year  following  were 
thirty-three. 

By  the  expansion  of  the  population  of  Ne^vark 
and  Orange,  quite  a  settlement  was  at  this  period 
formed  in  what  is  now  the  township  of  Bloomfield. 
The  place  was  then  called  by  the  Indian  name  Wat- 
sessing.  Religious  meetings  appear  to  have  been 
regularly  held  there  as  early  as  the  year  1790.     In 

years  before  the  founding  of  our  Academy,  at  the  instance  of  a  num- 
ber of  lay  ciders  and  other  zealous  Presbyterians  of  Philadelphia, 
had  probably  little  force  at  this  time,  if  it  ever  possessed  any.  Of 
as  little  account  in  the  esteem  of  the  parties  concerned  must  have 
been  the  recommendation  appended,  that  "  where  schools  are  com- 
posed of  different  denominations,  said  committees  and  sessions  in- 
vite proper  persons  of  said  denominations  to  join  with  them  in  such 
visitations."  First  teach  the  Catechism  ;  then  invito  others  in  to 
see  how  well  it  has  been  done 


BLOOMFIELD  CHUECH.  147 

May,  1794,  tlie  advice  of  the  Presbytery  was  sought 
on  the  subject  of  organizing  a  church.  The  Pres- 
bytery in  July  recommended  the  movement,  which 
for  reasons  unknown,  was  however  delayed.  In 
1796  the  congregation  by  a  vote  assumed  the  name 
of  Bloomfield ;  a  compliment  paid  to  Major  General 
Bloomfield  of  Burlington,  who  returned  it.  the  next 
year  in  a  donation  of  $140  toward  their  house  of 
worship.  The  church  was  organized  by  Mr.  Chap- 
man in  June,  1798,  receiving  twenty-three  of  its 
members  from  Newark  and  fifty-nine  from  Orange. 
Among  the  latter  were  Elders  Isaac  Dodd  (better 
known  as  "  Deacon "  Dodd)  and  Joseph  Crane. 
Deacon  Dodd  had  previously  resigned  his  office  in 
this  Church,  and  Elder  Joseph  Pierson  had  in  Feb- 
ruary been  ordained  to  the  diaconate  as  his  succes- 
sor. At  the  same  time  Linus  Dodd  and  Zenas 
Freeman  Avere  ordained  elders.  The  latter  was  to 
have  a  short  service — less  than  two  years — before 
joining  the  elders  around  the  throne. 

Mr.  Chapman  had  now  been  settled  in  the  parish 
more  than  thirty  years.  He  had  passed  the  peril- 
ous period  of  the  revolution  without  having  the 
pastoral  bond  severed  by  its  divisions  and  animosi- 
ties. He  had  risen  to  a  position  of  eminent  esteem 
and  influence  in  the  Presbyterian  body,  and  though 
in  the  ripeness  of  his  powers,  their  decay  could 
hardly  have  been  visible  at  the  age  of  fifty-seven. 
Circumstances  were,  however,  beginning  to  shape 


148  MB.  chapman's  salary. 

themselves  uncomfortably  around  him.  The  prom- 
ise of  his  people  that  he  should  be  freed  from 
worldly  cares,  failed,  by  the  fault  of  some  of  them, 
to  be  kept. 

In  October,  1798,  the  trustees  met  "to  inspect 
Mr.  Chapman's  rates,  and  to  make  a  statement  of 
the  bad  debts."  Collectors  were  appointed  to  visit 
those  who  had  unsettled  accounts,  and  Mr.  Chap- 
man was  applied  to  for  a  power-of-attorney  to  en- 
force their  settlement.  This,  he  reminded  them 
was  unnecessary,  the  power  being  already  theirs. 
To  cover  delinquencies,  a  paper  for  subscriptions 
was  also  passed  round,  agreeably  to  a  vote  taken  at 
a  parish  meeting,  in  order  to  make  the  salary  equal 
to  what  it  was  at  the  time  of  his  settlement.  It  ap- 
peared upon  examination  that  the  rates,  as  now 
received,  "amounted  to  about  £134  6s.  yearly." 
With  this  stipend,  equal  to  $357,  he  had  a  house, 
which  was  kept  in  repair  by  the  parish,  a  parson- 
age lot  of  four  acres,  and  the  twenty  acres  on  the 
other  side  of  the  road,  purchased  by  the  society  at 
its  origin.  It  is  supposed  that  no  privileges  were 
at  this  time  allowed  on  the  contested  lands  held  by 
the  Newark  Society,  from  which  the  Orange  claim- 
ants had  been  ejected  the  year  previous  by  the 
withdrawal  of  their  lease. 

"When  the  j)arish  came  together  in  January,  1799, 
it  was  agreed  to  raise  the  salary  that  year  to  £160, 
($-1:27).     The  plan,  as  arranged  by   the   trustees, 


MISSIONARY  APPOINTMENT.  149 

was :  That  those  wlio  did  not  assent  to  this  agree- 
ment should  be  rated  as  heretofore;  "  then  deduct 
the  amount  of  those  who  have  agreed  to  pay  by 
certainty ;  the  residue  to  be  raised  from  those  who 
have  agreed  on  the  subscription  to  pay  by  way  of 
rate."  In  the  following  December,  the  old  debts 
still  giving  trouble,  the  trustees  appointed  Jotham 
Harrison  and  Isaac  Pierson  a  committee  to  wait 
on  Mr.  Chapman,  to  make  some  arrangement  of 
his  old  debts  previous  to  any  suits  being-  com- 
menced. 

This  was  the  posture  of  affairs  when  a  call  came 
from  another  quarter.  The  General  Assembly,  in 
j\[ay,  1800,  desiring  to  locate  a  missionary  on  "the 
north-western  frontiers,"  which  then  lay  in  Western 
New  York,  made  choice  of  Mr.  Chapman.*    About 

*  See  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  349.  The  plan  of  the  Assembly 
was  to  employ  a  missionary  four  years,  who  should  be  engaged  in 
missionary  labor  six  months  each  year,  with  a  compensation  of 
$325  per  year.  The  rest  of  the  time  he  was  expected  to  serve 
statedly  some  congregation.  The  compiler  of  the  digest  is  wrong 
in  saying  that  • '  Mr.  Chapman  was  a  settled  pastor,  and  his  pulpit 
was  filled  by  a  committee  of  the  Assembly  while  he  was  engaged 
in  these  missionary  labors."  He  had  left  his  charge  here,  and  he 
was  not  settled  over  the  Geneva  church  till  1812.  It  was  organiz- 
ed by  him  in  1800. 

It  may  be  added  here  that  the  Presbyterian  churches  were  early 
engaged  in  sending  missionaries  to  the  "frontiers,"  for  the  bene- 
fit no  less  of  the  red  man  than  of  the  white.  Their  efforts  to 
instruct  the  aborigines  appear  to  have  had  some  influence  in  pro- 
voking others  to  the  same  work.  Colonel  Babcock  (an  Episcopalian), 


150  REMOVAL  TO   GENEVA. 

the  same  time,  and  in  conformity  wdtli  tlie  appoint- 
ment, his  ministerial  services  were  solicited  by  the 
people  of  Geneva  and  its  neighborhood.  The 
result  was,  that  on  the  13th  of  August  his  pastoral 
relation  to  this  church  was  dissolved — a  relation 
which  had  existed  thirty-four  years. 

In  the  final  settlement  of  his  affairs  with  tlio 
parish,  he  received  £29  for  a  study  and  other  build- 
ings added  by  him  to  the  parsonage,  and  £10  for 
money  spent  in  repairs. 

A  number  of  persons  are  yet  living  at  Orange, 
who  sat  under  Mr.  Chapman's  ministry  here,  and 
who  cherish  their  reminiscences  of  those  bj^-gone 
days.  Jacob  and  Moses  Harrison  remember  the 
barrel  of  cider  which  went  annually  to  his  cellar 
from  their  father's  cider-mill — a  largo  manufixctory 
of  the  article.  It  was  in  the  days  when  the  "  New- 
ark cider,"  produced  from  the  fomous  Harrison  and 
Canfield  apples,  enjoyed  a  wide  reputation.  It  is 
said  that  one  thousand  barrels  a  year  flowed  from 
the  presses  of  the  single  mill  just  mentioned.  Of 
the  extensive  orchards  that  fed  them,  only  the 
remnants  now  remain. 


writing  to  Rev.  Dr.  Cooper  in  1113,  and  recommending  the  estab- 
lishment of  an  academy  among  the  Indians  near  Albany,  urged  as 
one  reason,  that  '•  this  might  in  a  great  measure  prevent  tlie  Pres- 
byterians, who  are  tucking  and  squeezing  in  every  possible  crevice  they 
can,  their  missionaries  among  the  Indians."  Documentary  Historj' 
of  New  York. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  HIM.  151 

This  article  was  then  a  popular  beverage,  as- 
sociated with  the  hospitalities  of  every  home.  It 
was  found  in  the  minister's  house,  and  was  furnish- 
ed without  scruple  to  the  family,  to  the  friend,  to 
the  laborer,  and  the  stranger.  The  evening  visit 
never  closed  without  it,  and  the  story  is  told  of  a 
certain  parishioner  of  our  pastor,  whose  neighborly 
calls  were  observed  to  be  most  frequent  while  the 
the  cider  lasted.  The  times  of  this  ignorance  have 
happily  passed  by. 

Mr.  C.  is  remembered  as  an  early  riser,  who 
might  be  seen  at  his  well  by  day-light,  on  a  sum- 
mer morning,  performing  his  ablutions.  He  was  a 
stout  man,  of  fresh  complexion,  and  fond  of  manual 
labor.  In  the  pulpit  he  was  earnest,  and  used  a 
good  deal  of  action.  When  a  little  excited,  he 
would  smite  vigorously  the  desk,  and  speak  in  the 
tones  of  a  "  son  of  thunder." 

His  temper  was  naturally  quick,  and  being  once 
rather  rudely  treated  by  a  neighbor,  with  whom  he 
had  some  difficulty  about  repairing  a  fence,  he  is 
reported  to  have  said  to  him:  "If  it  were  not  for 
my  coat.  Sir,  I  would  give  you  a  flogging."  Hav- 
ing some  hay  out  when  a  shower  came  up,  and 
having  succeeded  in  getting  it  in  before  the  cloud 
reached  the  field, — "  There,"  said  he,  "the  prince  of 
the  power  of  the  air  meant  to  give  my  hay  a  wet- 
ting, but  he  got  disappointed," 

He  had  a  cornfield  on  the  parsonage  land,  the 


152  MISSIONARY  LABORS. 

soil  of  whicli  was  a  good  deal  impoverished.  One 
of  the  farmers  in  passing  it  one  day  observed  to 
him,  that  his  corn  looked  rather  yellow :  ^'  It  ivas 
yellow  com  I planted^^''  was  the  reply. 

Down  to  the  end  of  his  ministry  in  Orange,  Mr. 
Chapman  continued  to  wear  the  three-cornered  hat, 
formerly  a  badge  of  the  clerical  profession.  This 
was  ordinarily  set  a  little  obliquely  upon  the  head, 
but  it  was  observed  that  in  riding  against  the  wind 
he  was  accustomed  to  turn  it  transversely,  that  is, 
with  its  broadest  side  foremost.  When  a  friend 
asked  him  the  reason  of  this,  he  said  that  a  man  in 
facing  a  north-wester  should  present  a  hold  front.^ 

Upon  leaving  Orange,  Mr.  Chapman  established 
his  family  at  Geneva,  where  he  supplied  a  congre- 
gation for  many  years,  while  performing  a  labori- 
ous missionary  service  in  the  region  around.  He 
had  the  surveying  and  superintendence  of  the  whole 
missionary  field  in  Western  New  York  assigned 
him  by  the  General  Assembly,  to  which  he  reported 
annually  his  labors  and  their  results.     The  oldest 

*  When  Archibald  Alexander  (afterwards  Professor  in  the 
Princeton  Seminary)  was  travelling  through  New  England  in  the 
summer  of  1801,  he  distinguished  the  country  ministers  by  the 
cocked  hats  which  they  still  wore  when  they  appeared  in  public. 
And  Dr.  Eckley  told  him  that  "  even  in  Boston,  when  he  visited 
the  older  people,  he  was  obliged  to  put  on  the  cocked  hat,  as  they 
considered  tlie  round  hat  too  '  buckish'  for  a  clergyman." — Life  of 
Dr.  Alexander,  p.  257.— In  Orange  the  round  hat  came  with  Mr. 
Hillyer— the  innovation  of  a  new  century. 


HIS  DEATH.  153 

churclies  in  that  region,  those  of  Geneva,  Eomulus, 
Ovid,  Eushville,  Trumansburg,  were  organized  by 
him.  And  he  lived  to  see  accomplished  an  object 
to  which  all  his  powers  were  devoted — "  a  complete 
union  between  the  Presbyterian  and  Congregational 
churches  in  Western  New  York."  * 

About  ten  months  after  his  settlement  over  the 
Geneva  church  as  its  senior  pastor,  and  after  a  fifty 
years'  service  in  the  ministry,  he  rested  from  his 
labors,  May  22,  1813,  in  his  seventy-third  year. 
His  last  illness  came  on  him  in  the  pulpit,  preach- 
ing from  the  words  :  "I  have  fought  a  good  fight, 
I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith : 
henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of 
righteousness,"  &c. 

He  left  to  the  Presbyterian  Church  a  patriarchal 
name,  and  works  that  do  still  follow  him.  Few 
men  among  his  contemporaries  did  an  equal  service 
for  the  church.  The  most  of  his  descendants  are 
warmly  attached  to  the  Presbyterian  faith  and  or- 
der. 

*  Hotchkin's  Hist.  "Western  N.  Y.  At  the  formation  of  the 
Synod  of  Albany,  he  preached  the  opening  sermon,  and  presided 
till  a  moderator  was  chosen. 


CHAPTER  VL 

REV.   ASA   IIILLYER,   D.D. 

ri^HE  preceding  portion  of  our  narrative  is  ratlier 
JL  a  ^ja/7'5^  history  than  a  history  of  the  church. 
Much  would  have  been  added  to  its  religious  in- 
terest, could  the  writer  have  had  access  to  the 
perished  records  of  the  Church  Session.  These 
would  have  let  him  into  the  temple,  while  he  has 
been  treading  in  the  outer  courts ;  permitted  to 
"  walk  about  Zion  and  go  round  about  her,"  but 
not  to  enter  the  sanctuarj^  of  her  spiritual  life. 
Stepping  across  the  line  which  divides  the  centu- 
ries, we  now  enter  a  period  distinguished  by  the 
interest  of  its  events  and  less  obscured  by  distance. 
Henceforth  we  have;  a  more  luminous  path,  and 
one  more  divergent  from  matters  of  a  civil  and 
political  nature. 

At  the  time  Mr.  Chapman  was  leaving  Orange, 
a  clergyman  of  New  Hartford,  Conn.,  was  making 
arrangements  to  pass  a  winter  in  New  Jersey  in  the 
hope  that  his  wife's  health  would  be  benefited  by 
its  milder  climate.     It  was  the  Rev.  Edwai'd  Dorr 


LABOES   OF   GRIFFIN.  165 

Griffin,  wlio  had  then  been  eight  years  in  the  exer- 
cise of  those  eloquent  gifts  which  have  placed  his 
name  among  those  of  the  ablest  preachers  of  the 
century.  Being  an  acquaintance  and  friend  of  Mr, 
liillyer,  who  was  settled  at  Madison,  and  being 
invited  to  pass  some  time  at  his  house,  he  in  Octo- 
ber accepted  the  invitation  and  remained  there  seve- 
ral weeks.  His  proximity  to  Orange  brought  him 
to  the  notice  of  the  congregation  here,  who  engaged 
him  to  supply  their  pulpit  during  the  winter.  An 
extensive  awakening  accompanied  his  preaching. 
Having  labored  in  the  parish  six  months,  with  a 
large  blessing  upon  his  labors,  about  fifty  souls 
being  hopefully  converted,  he  would  have  received 
from  the  congregation  a  call  had  he  given  them 
sufficient  encouragement.  He  was  soon  after  set- 
tled in  Kewark  as  the  colleague  of  Dr.  McWhor- 
ter,  wdiile  his  friend,  Mr.  Hillyer,  became  pastor  of 
this  church.  These  circumstances  led  to  a  still 
closer  intimacy. 

"  In  no  situation,"  wrote  Dr.  Hillyer  many  years 
afterward,  "  was  Dr.  Griffin  more  entirely  at  home 
than  in  a  revival  of  religion.  It  Y.ras  my  privilege 
often  to  bo  ^^■ith  him  in  such  circumstances ;  and  I 
knew  not  which  to  admire  most,  the  skill  and  power 
with  which  he  wielded  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  or 
the  childlike  dependence  Vvdiich  was  evinced  by  his 
tender  and  fervent  supplications.  Though  he  was 
certainly   one   of   the    most   accomplished   pulpit 


156  HIS   PREACHING   DESCRIBED. 

orators  of  his  time,  on  these  occasions  especially, 
the  power  of  his  eloquence  was  lost  sight  of  in  the 
mighty  effects  which  were  produced.  A  quicken- 
ing influence  went  forth  through  the  church,  and 
an  awakening  and  converting  influence  spread 
through  the  surrounding  world ;  the  pressing  of 
sinners  into  the  kingdom  Avas  such  as  seemed 
almost  to  betoken  the  dawn  of  the  millennial  day ; 
and  yet  the  instrumentality  by  which  all  this  was 
brought  about  was  little  talked  of.  This  result, 
after  all,  I  suppose  to  be  the  highest  effect  of  pulpit 
eloquence.  He  Avrought  so  mightily  on  the  relig- 
ious principles  and  affections  of  his  audience,  that 
they  had  not  the  time,  or  scarcely  the  ability,  to 
marvel  at  the  exalted  gifts  with  which  these  effects 
"were  associated."^ 

During  his  brief  ministry  in  Orange,  Mr.  Griffin 
was  a  boarder  in  the  family  of  Captain  Jotham 
Harrison.  From  a  statement  drawn  up  by  the 
latter  in  June,  1801,  and  laid  before  a  parish  com- 
mittee appointed  the  December  previous  "  for  the 
purpose  of  procuring  suitable  accommodations  for 
Mr.  Griffin,"  it  appears  that  the  boarding  account 
was  settled  by  the  parish.  What  further  compen- 
sation was  given  is  not  known.  As  he  received 
no  salary  from  his  people  in  New  Hartford  during 
his  absence,  it  is  altogether  probable  tliat  he  was 
paid  for  his  labors  here  something  more  than  enough 

*  Annals  of  Am.  Pulpit,  IV.,  3i>. 


BOARD   ACCOUNT.  157 

to  settle  his  board  bill.  This  lattSr,  for  twentj-nine 
weeks  and  two  days,  amounted  to  £144  85.  7cZ.,  or 
$385.  It  included,  however,  besides  board,  (at  £2 
per  week  for  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Griffin,)  a  charge  for 
two  rooms  entirely  famished  (£20) ;  the  service  of 
a  hired  woman,  at  six  shillings  a  week,  and  her 
board  at  ten  shillings ;  the  v/ages  of  a  nurse  for 
Mrs.  Grifl&n  at  sixteen  shillings  a  vreek,  and  her 
board  at  twelve  shillings  ;  the  keeping  of  a  horse 
at  twelve  shillings  a  week,  on  "  one  peck  of  oats  a 
day  and  the  best  hay ;"  harnessing  horse  for  Mr. 
Griffin  and  his  visitors ;  cutting  wood,  making 
fires,  running  on  errands,  &c.,  (£11  12.5.) ;  candles 
for  the  29  weeks  (£2  10.5.).  It  will  be  seen  that 
some  of  these  charges  grew  out  of  the  state  of  Mrs. 
Griffin's  health.  From  the  whole  the  reader  will 
infer  a  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  people  to  sur- 
I'ound  the  minister  of  Christ  with  all  necessary 
comforts  and  facilities  for  his  work.  Their  reward 
was  proportionate. 

Failing  to  secure  the  permanent  ministrations  of 
Mr.  Griffin,  the  congregation  of  Orange  had  their 
attention  soon  directed  to  the  Eev.  Asa  Hillyer,  of 
Madison.  His  long  and  useful  ministry  in  the 
parish  demands  at  our  hands  some  notice  of  his 
earlier  history. 

Mr.  Ilillyer   was  a  native  of   Sheffield,  Mass., 
where  he  was  born  April  16,  1763.     He  was  the  son 
of  a  physician,  Avho  became  a  surgeon  in  the  Revolu-! 
8 


158  REV.   ASA   HILLYER. 

tionarj  army.  Entering  Yale  College  Avhen  he  was 
nineteen  years  old,  lie  graduated  after  a  four  years 
course  of  study  in  1786.  His  father  was  at  this 
time  residing  at  Bridgehampton,  L,  I.  In  crossing 
the  Sound  on  his  return  home  from  college,  he 
came  near  losing  his  life  by  a  storm,  which  arose  in 
the  night  and  drove  ashore  the  vessel  in  which  he 
sailed.  Among  his  fellow-passengers  there  was  a 
mother  with  several  children.  The  sight  of  these 
touched  the  heart  of  3'oung  11  illy er  and  roused  all 
his  heroism.  Obtaining  a  boat,  he  placed  them  in 
it  as  soon  as  it  began  to  be  light,  and  then  sjiring- 
ing  into  the  water  himself,  pushed  the  boat  to  land. 
At  this  time  he  had  no  Christian  hope,  and  the 
effect  of  the  night's  disaster  and  of  its  merciful  ter- 
mination was  the  immediate  and  solemn  consecra- 
tion of  his  life  to  God, 

Having  resolved  upon  entering  the  ministry,  he 
began  a  course  of  theological  study  with  Dr.  Buell, 
of  East  Hampton,  which  he  subsequently  pursued 
and  finished  with  Dr.  Livingston,  of  New  York, 
and  in  1788  he  was  licensed  to  preach  by  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Suffolk.  His  ordination  and  settlement 
at  South  Hanover,  now  IMadison,  N.  J.,  by  the 
Presbytery  of  New  York,  took  place  July  28, 
1790.  The  next  year  he  was  married  to  !Miss  Jane 
Eiker,  of  Newtown,  L.  I. — a  union  destined  to  be 
long  and  happy.  In  1798,  under  an  appointment 
of  the  General  Assembly,  he  went  out  upon  a  mis- 


MISSIONARY  TOUR.  159 

sionarj  tour  through  northern  Pennsylvania  and 
■western  New  York,  being  absent  from  his  charge 
nine  weeks,  travelling  more  than  nine  hundred 
miles,  and  preaching  daily  or  oftencr.  He  carried 
the  gospel  to  places  where  it  was  never  heard  be- 
fore. Among  these  may  be  mentioned  the  place 
where  now  stands  the  city  of  Auburn.* 

*  At  this  place  lie  was  entertained  at  the  house  of  a  lawyer  of 
sceptical  sentiments,  whose  father,  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence,  had  been  a  man  of  piety.  In  convers- 
ing with  the  wife  of  his  host,  Mr.  H.  discovered  her  to  be  in  a 
state  of  serious  concern  for  her  salvation.  The  gentleman  pro- 
posing a  ride  the  next  day,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  him  a  view 
of  the  country,  he  accepted  the  invitation.  After  riding  a  short 
distance,  the  former  observed  that  he  had  a  special  motive  for  the 
ride,  desiring  to  have  some  conversation  with  him  on  a  subject 
which  was  deeply  engaging  his  thoughts.  He  informed  him  that 
he  had  been  a  disbeliever  in  the  Bible.  The  book  had  lain  in  his 
ofBce  unused,  except  in  the  administration  of  oaths.  One  day,  as 
his  eye  rested  upon  it,  these  thoughts  arose :  "  I  have  read  much 
that  has  been  written  against  that  book,  but  have  never  honestly 
examined  the  book  itself.  My  father  was  a  firm  believer  in  it. 
He  was  not  a  man  of  weak  intellect  or  of  doubtful  integrity,  but 
intelligent,  conscientious,  patriotic,  and  pure-minded.  It  did  not 
injure  him,  but  contributed  to  make  him  what  he  was.  I  will  now 
be  honest  with  myself  and  give  it  a  fair  examination."  He  had 
commenced  reading  it,  and  its  truths  had  so  impressed  and  dis- 
turbed his  mind  that  he  had  since  found  no  peace.  "  Have  you 
ever  spoken  to  your  wife  on  the  subject?"  asked  Mr.  H.  He  said 
he  had  not.  As  they  continued  their  ride,  the  opportunity  was 
improved  to  deepen  his  convictions  of  Gospel  truth.  On  their 
return  to  the  house,  as  the  gentleman  was  fastening  his  horse,  Mr. 
H.  stepped  in  and  disclosed  to  the  wife  what  he  had  learned  of 


160  CALL   TO    ORANGE. 

After  laboring  about  twelve  years  with  great 
acceptance  at  Madison — then,  known  by  the  name 
of  Bottle  Hill — Mr.  Hillyer  was  invited  to  the  pas- 
toral charge  of  this  congregation.  After  a  due 
consideration  of  the  subject,  he  decided  to  accept 
the  invitation.  The  people  of  his  former  charge, 
in  receiving  his  resignation,  placed  a  minute  upon 
their  records,  which  (in  the  language  of  the  present 
pastor  of  that  church)  "does  honor  both  to  them- 
selves and  to  him  ;  and  furnishes  a  beautiful  exem- 
plification of  the  spirit  Avhich  ought  to  be  exhibited 
both  by  pastors  and  people,  v/hen  in  the  providence 
of  God  the}^  are  called  to  separate."*  Although 
the  call  from  this  church  was  not  unanimous,  Mr. 
Hillyer  entered  the  field  hopefulh',  believing  that 
a  general  concurrence  would  not  long  be  withheld. 
He  did  not  miscalculate  the  power  of  love.  The 
field  was  soon  his  own,  long  to  be  held  b}^  the 
power  that  won  it. 

The  call,  drawn  up  in  the  usual  form,  was  as 
follows:  "The  Congregation  of  Orange  Dale,  be- 
ing on  sufficient  grounds  well  satisfied  of  the  minis- 

her  husband's  state  of  mind.  lu  a  few  moments  the  latter  en- 
tered. His  wife  met  him  aftectionately.  As  their  eyes  met,  both 
were  overcome  with  emotion.  They  embraced  each  other  and 
wept,  and  were  soon  rejoicing  togetlier  in  the  hope  of  salvation. — 
Related  by  Dr.  Hillyer  to  Rev.  James  "Wood,  now  President  of 
Hanover  College,  Indiana,  and  by  him  to  the  writer. 

*  Hist,  of  Pres.  Church,  Madison,  by  Rev.  Samuel  L.  Tuttle..  p. 
40. 


TERMS   OF  THE   CALL.  161 

terial  qualifications  of  you,  the  Eev.  Asa  Hillyer, 
and  lia\dng  good  hopes  from  our  past  experience 
of  your  labors  that  your  ministrations  in  the  Gos- 
pel will  be  profitable  to  our  spiritual  interests,  do 
earnestly  call  and  desire  you  to  undertake  the  pas- 
toral office  in  said  congregation,  promising  you  in 
the  discharge  of  your  duty  all  proper  support,  en- 
couragement, and  obedience  in  the  Lord.  And 
that  you  may  be  free  from  worldly  cares  and  avo- 
cations, we  hereby  promise  and  oblige  ourselves  to 
pay  to  you  the  sum  of  six  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  dollars  in  regular  annual  payments,  together 
with  the  use  of  the  parsonage  house  and  twelve 
acres  of  land  adjoining  the  same,  and  thirty  cords 
of  wood  annually,  during  the  time  of  your  being 
and  continuing  the  regular  pastor  of  this  church. 
The  congregation,  moreover,  engage  to  put  the 
buildings  and  fences  in  good  repair.  But  the  Eev. 
Asa  Hillyer  is  to  be  at  the  expense  of  after  repairs, 
with  the  privilege  of  collecting  the  necessary  mate- 
rials from  the  parsonage  to  repair  the  fences.  In 
testimony  whereof,  &c.     Done  October  20,  1801." 

The  call  was  signed  by  the  trustees,  viz. :  Aaron 
Mun,  Joseph  Pierson,  Jun.,  Thomas  Williams,  Dan- 
iel Williams,  Samuel  Condit,  Isaac  Pierson  ; — by 
the  elders,  viz. :  Joseph  Pierson,  Jun.,  Amos  Har- 
rison, John  Perry,  Aaron  Mun,  Linus  Dodd,  Henry 
Osborn ;  and  by  Eev.  Bethuel  Dodd,  Moderator. 


162  THE   SETTLEMENT. 

The  installation  took  jjlacc  December  16.* 
Mr.  Hilljer  was  now  in  his  full  strength,  being 
in  his  39th  year — the  age  at  which  one  of  his  pre- 
decessors had  been  called  from  his  work.  He  had 
a  tall  and  manly  figure,  and  features  not  a  little 
resembling  those  of  George  Washington.  With- 
out the  eloquence  of  Grif&n,  he  had  a  vigorous 
intellect,  sound  learning,  ardent  piety,  courteous 
manners,  and  great  benevolence  of  character.  Few 
men  have  possessed  a  happier  combination  of  min- 
isterial qualities. 

There  was  another,  however,  possessing  many 
similar  traits  of  character,  whose  name  is  inciden- 
tally connected  with  our  history  at  this  point,  and 
between  whom  and  Mr.  Hillyer  a  long  and  warm 
friendship  subsequently  existed.  He  was  nine  years 
younger,  being  in  his  thirtieth  year,  when,  in  the 
summer  of  1801,  having  resigned  a  brief  presidency 
of  Hampden  Sidney  College,  in  Virginia,  his  native 
State,  he  made  an  extensive  tour  of  observation  on 
horseback  through  the  Northern  States,  for  the 
improvement  of  his  health  and  mind.  Having 
travelled  through  New  England,  he  was  returning 
homeward  by  way  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey. 
A  Sabbath  was  passed  in  New  York,  where  he 
preached  in   the  evening  for  Dr.  Eodgers  in  the 

*  Dr.  McWhorter  presided  and  gave  the  charge  to  the  minister ; 
James  Eichards,  of  Morristown,  preached ;  Aaron  Condit  "  made 
the  address  to  the  people." 


ARCHIBALD  ALEXANDER.  163 

Brick  Church.  "  The  next  day  was  partly  spent 
at  Newark,  with  the  venerable  Dr.  McWhorter, 
after  which  he  proceeded  to  Elizabethtown,  and 
visited  the  Eev.  Henry  Kollock,  at  the  house  of 
his  father.  It  a  was  a  favorite  plan  of  Mr.  Kollock 
to  have  his  friend  settled  in  the  congregation  of 
Orange,  but  the  steps  taken  by  him  wefe  unsuc- 
cessfal."*  This  young  Virginian  was  Archibald 
Alexander,  then  little  known  in  this  region,  but 
whose  name  New  Jersey  was  yet  to  cherish  with 
a  just  pride  as  enrolled  among  those  of  her  ablest 
theological  teachers  and  most  useful  writers.  It 
is  likely  that  the  congregation  of  Orange  had  their 
thoughts  fixed  upon  Mr.  Hillyer,  if  they  had  not 
already  invited  him,  and  Providence  had  other 
and  yet  larger  designs  for  Mr.  Alexander.  His 
friend  Kollock,  (afterward  Dr.  Kollock,)  one  of  the 
most  eloquent  preachers  of  his  day,  settled  in  Sa- 
vannah, Ga.  He  was  a  son  of  Shepard  Kollock, 
of  Elizabethtown,  an  active  patriot  in  the  Kevolu- 
tion,  and  for  some  time  editor  and  publisher  of  a 
newspaper.f 

The  old  stone  meeting-house  was  now  the  memo- 
rial of  a  generation  gone.     It  had  stood  almost 

*  Life  of  Dr.  Alexander,  p.  264. 
f  Mr.  Hillyer's  oldest  son,  Asa,  married  Lydia,  a  daughter  of 
Shepard  Kollock.     He  lived  but  about  eighteen  months  after  their 
union.     The  widow  became  the  wife  of  Rev.  Dr.  Holdicli,  of  the 
Am.  Bible  Society. 


164  CHL'KCH    OFFICERS. 

half  a  century.  The  stone  parsonage  had  more 
than  completed  that  period.  Both  had  from  time 
to  time  seen  their  age  renewed  by  sundry  improve- 
ments, and  they  were  not  yet  to  be  released  from 
service  for  a  dozen  years  or  more.  The  church 
had  a  membership  of  about  two  hundred.  The 
exact  figure  is  not  known  prior  to  1806,  when  it 
was  reported  at  two  hundred  and  twenty-three. 
The  congregation  was  among  the  largest  to  be 
found  in  the  rural  parishes.  Such  was  the  field. 
It  was  entered  by  the  new  pastor  in  the  hope  of  a 
more  expanded  usefulness. 

And  who  were  to  be  the  helpers  of  his  ministry  ? 
Few  were  left  of  those  who,  thirtj^-five  years  be- 
fore, had  given  the  right  hand  of  their  confidence 
to  his  j)redecessor.  In  the  line  of  elders,  Bethuel 
Pierson  had  been  gone  some  ten  years,  and  Joseph, 
his  son,  had  succeeded  to  the  "  double  honor  "  of 
which  he  had  been  counted  worth}^  Noah  Crane, 
at  the  age  of  eighty-one,  had  passed  away  but  a 
year  and  a  half  before,  and  Zenas  Freeman,  at  half 
that  age,  had  speedily  followed.  Isaac  Dodd  and 
Joseph  Crane  had  been  transferred  to  Bloomfield. 
Of  the  officers  who  remained.  Deacon  Amos  Bald- 
win was  in  his  eight3^-second  year — old  enough  to 
retire  from  service.  Judge  Peck,  also  an  elder  and 
deacon,  stood  next  in  seniority,  being  in  his  sev- 
entieth year.  John  Perry  was  fifty-five.  Joseph 
Pierson,  Aaron  Munn,  Linus  Dodd,  Amos  Harri- 


THE   SEXTON.  165 

son,  and  Henry  Osborn,  were  younger.  The  names 
of  Moses  Condit  and  John  Lindsley  were  added  to 
the  list  a  little  more  than  three  years  after.  These 
■were  the  associates  of  our  pastor  in  the  earliest  period 
of  his  administration  here.  They  were  all  literally 
his  elders,  who  were  to  finish  their  course  before  him. 
There  was  in  the  parish  a  young  man  of  twenty- 
six,  who  was  to  be  an  office-bearer  at  the  end  of 
thirty  years,  when  these  were  gone.  At  this  time  he 
might  have  been  seen  on  a  Sunday  morning  or  a 
.Wednesday  evening  performing  the  duties  of  bell- 
ringer.  This  was  Josiah  Frost,  who  was  employed 
in  1800  to  ring  the  bell  "  on  Sabbath  and  lecture 
days  "  for  £3  14?. ;  the  widow  Sarah  Condit  hav- 
ing charge  of  the  sweeping  at  £5  per  annum.  The 
sexton's  offices  were  thus  divided  between  the  two 
till  1805,  when  the  former  assumed  the  whole  busi- 
ness, with  a  salary  of  $33  87.  By  the  terms  of 
the  contract  he  was  to  take  the  whole  and  proper 
charge  of  the  meeting-house,  sweeping  the  same, 
finding  the  sand,  ringing  the  bell,  and  lighting  the 
caudles  ;  the  last  named-article  to  be  found  at  the 
expense  of  the  parish,  and  "  the  ends  left  to  go  to 
the  person  who  lights  the  candles."  This  service 
Mr.  Frost  performed  through  a  number  of  years. 
In  due  time  he  was  called  to  serve  the  church  in  a 
higher  office,  and  at  the  time  of  our  present  writ- 
ing he  has  just  "  entered  into  the  joy  of  his  Lord," 
ripe  in  years  and  spiritual  fruitfulness. 


166  LOTS   ON   THE    COMMON. 

The  growtH  of  the  village  creating  a  consider- 
able demand  for  building  lots,  the  parish  in  1802 
resolved  to  sell  a  portion  of  its  lands  along  Main 
street  for  that  purpose — the  interest  to  be  appro- 
priated to  the  support  of  the  Gospel.  Five  lots 
north  and  eight  lots  south  of  the  street  were  accord- 
ingly sold,  for  the  sum  of  $3,546,  secured  by  bond 
and  mortgage.  The  strip  of  ground  already  used 
for  a  Common,  lying  opposite  the  j)arsonage,  was 
to  be  reserved  for  that  purpose  forever.  The  eight 
lots  lay  along  the  southern  border  of  this,  and 
comprised  six  acres  and  fifty-eight  hundredths  of 
an  acre.  The  Common  was  for  a  special  and  pa- 
triotic use,  as  well  as  for  the  public  convenience 
and  for  the  adornment  of  the  village.  The  mar- 
tial parade  drew  hither  annually  its  display  of 
arms,  and  a  crowd  of  citizens,  old  and  young,  who 
looked  to  the  occasion  as  the  carnival  of  the  year. 
Generous  dinners  were  famished  by  the  tavern 
hard  by,  while  travelling  hucksters  and  auctioneers 
did  a  thriving  business  by  the  wayside.  The 
locality  is  that  now  known  as  the  pari-. 

In  1806,  the  trustees  resolved  to  build  a  store- 
house on  the  Orange  Dock,  "  18  feet  by  30."  The 
work  was  executed  by  Amos  Harrison,  he  being 
the  lowest  bidder,  for  $239  75. 

About  two  3^ears  from  Mr.  Hillyer's  settlement, 
the  church  received  a  gentle  refreshing.  This  in- 
dication of  the  divine  favor  excited  his  thanks- 


KEVIVAL  OF  1807.  167 

givings,  and  relieved  him  of  a  lingering  fear  that 
he  had  mistaken  the  voice  of  Providence  in  the 
matter  of  his  settlement.  If  any  measure  of  that 
fear  remained,  it  was  put  to' rest  a  few  years  subse- 
quently, when  there  came  down  a  baptism  of  the 
Spirit  which  surpassed  anything  known,  before  or 
since,  in  the  history  of  the  congregation.  There 
is,  happily,  a  narrative  of  this  great  revival,  writ- 
ten by  himself  to  some  clerical  friend.  The  name 
and  date  are  not  found  in  the  transcript  before  us. 
We  give  his  account  of  it  without  abridgment. 

"  Rev.  and  Dear  Sir  : — A  weakness  in  my  side,  occasioned 
by  the  illness  from  which  I  was  just  recovering,  when  I  saw  you 
last  September,  which  rendered  it  extremely  painful  for  me  to 
write,  has  prevented  my  complying  with  your  request  until  this 
time.  But  supposing  that,  even  at  this  late  hour,  it  may  not  be 
displeasing  to  you  to  receive  a  brief  account  of  the  wonders  of 
divine  grace  which  have  been  witnessed  in  this  congregation, 
and  a  general  view  of  the  work  of  God  in  this  vicinity,  I  will 
endeavor  to  give  as  general  and  succinct  a  relation  of  these 
things  as  I  am  able, 

"  In  the  beginning  of  September,  1807,  some  tokens  of  good 
were  discovered.  A  number  of  praying  people  were  stirred  up 
to  fervent  prayer,  and  there  appeared  to  be  an  increased  at- 
tention to  the  preached  word.  For  more  than  three  years  a 
meeting  for  special  prayer  had  been  attended  in  the  church  on 
the  first  Monday  evening  in  every  mouth.  This  meeting  now 
increased  in  numbers  and  solemnity. 

"  This  church,  in  connection  with  two  neighboring  churches,* 

*  Those  of  Newark  and  Bloomfield,  doubtless.  Dr.  Griffin,  then 
pastor  in  Newark,  made  this  record  in  his  journal:   "September, 


168  ST'ATE   OF    MORALS. 

agreed  to  set  apart  September  4tli  for  lasting  and  prayer,  and 
in  an  especial  manner,  make  supplication  for  the  effusion  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  A  number  of  praying  people  also  agreed  to 
meet  at  nine  o'clock  on  Sabbath  morning,  in  the  academy,  to 
spend  an  hour  in  prayer  for  their  minister,  and  for  a  divine 
blessing  on  the  exercises  of  the  day.  This  has  been  attended 
from  that  time  to  the  present  by  a  great  proportion  of  the 
praying  people  of  the  congregation.  It  has  been  very  refresh- 
ing to  them,  and  accompanied  with  very  happy  effects. 

"  But  it  may  not  be  improper  to  remark  here,  that  for  some 
time  previous  to  this,  everything  around  assumed  a  gloomy 
aspect  in  regard  to  evangelical  piety.  All  meetings  for  prayer, 
except  the  first  Monday  in  the  month,  were  relinquished. 
Gambling,  horse-racing,  intemperance,  and  dissipation  of  every 
kind,  threatened  all  social  order  with  destruction.  A  moral 
society  had  been  established  for  two  years,  the  object  of  which 
was  the  suppression  of  vice  and  immorality ;  but  no  human 
effort  was  able  to  withstand  the  torrent  of  vice  which  threat- 
ened us  on  every  side.  At  the  same  time  the  exertions  of 
Christians  were  paralyzed  ;  the  wise  were  sleeping  with  the 
foolish.  This  state  of  things  alarmed  a  few  praying  people ; 
they  agreed  to  resume  a  prayer-meeting  which  had,  for  the  first 
time  in  more  than  forty  years,  been  relinquished  the  spring  be- 
fore. This  took  place  about  the  latter  part  of  July.  For  a 
number  of  weeks  not  more  than  twelve  or  fourteen  persons  at- 
tended ;  but  such  fervent  and  earnest  wrestling  with  God  I 
never  witnessed.  They  prayed  as  though  they  saw  their  chil- 
dren and  neighbors  standing  on  the  verge  of  destruction,  and 
that,  without  an  immediate  interposition  of  almighty  grace, 
they  were  lost  for  ever. 

1807.  Began  a  great  revival  of  religion  in  the  town.  Ninety- 
seven  joined  the  church  in  one  day,  and  about  two  Imndred  in  all."' 
Fifty,  or  more,  were  gathered  in  at  Bloomfiold. 


THE   BALL.  169 

"  It  was  soon  perceived  that  our  public  assemblies  were  un- 
usually solemn,  but  no  special  impression  appeared  to  be  made 
until  the  third  Sabbath  in  September.  In  the  morning  the 
assembly  was  addressed  on  the  awful  solemnity  of  a  future 
judgment ;  and,  iu  the  afternoon,  from  these  words  :  Choose  you 
this  day  whom  yeioill  serve.  This  was  a  day  long  to  be  remem- 
bered. Such  solemnity  had  not  been  seen  for  many  years,  and 
many  date  their  first  impressions  from  that  day. 

"  The  case  of  one  young  Miss  it  may  not  be  improper  for 
me  to  mention.  She  had  been  excessively  fond  of  balls  and 
parties  of  pleasure  ;  and  had  so  strong  an  aversion  to  the  public 
institutions  of  religion,  that  it  was  with  difficulty  she  could  be 
prevailed  upon  to  attend  public  worship.  This  day  she  re- 
solved to  give  up  her  amusements,  and  attend  to  the  vast  con- 
cerns of  her  soul.  In  the  evening  we  had  a  crowded  assembly. 
An  address  was  made  from  these  words  :  All  that  the  Father 
giveth  me  shall  come  to  me.  The  doctrine  brought  to  view  in 
this  passage  of  Scripture  greatly  exasperated  a  number  present, 
among  whom  was  this  young  lady.  She  now  declared  she 
would  attend  no  more  meetings  ;  '  for,'  said  she,  '  if  I  am  given 
to  Christ,  I  shall  be  saved  ;  if  not,  all  my  efforts  will  be  vain.' 
In  the  conclusion  of  the  exercises,  the  youth  were  particularly 
addressed,  and  afiectionately  told  of  the  wonderful  things  God 
was  doing  for  the  young  people  of  Newark  and  Elizabethtown. 
The  young  lady  above-mentioned,  notwithstanding  her  enmity  to 
the  truth,  resolved  to  break  up  a  ball  she  had  engaged  to  attend 
the  next  Tuesday  evening.  Accordingly,  earl}'  Monday  morn- 
ing she  called  on  a  number  of  her  female  companions,  and  per- 
suaded them  to  unite  with  her,  and  have  the  contemplated  ball 
deferred  until  the  next  week.  They  succeeded  ;  the  ball  was  defer- 
red, and  has  not  since  been  attended.  The  disappointment 
which  this  occasioned  greatly  exasperated  some  of  the  young 
men,  who  determined  to  seek  revenge  on  their  minister  and 
others,  whom  they  accused  of  breaking  up  (he  ball;  although 


170  THE   PRAYER-MEETING. 

their  minister  knew  nothing  of  the  ball  until  they  mentioned 
it  afterwards,  with  abhorrence.  They  resolved  to  attend  the 
prayer-meeting  the  next  Wednesday  evening,  and  then  fix  upon 
another  time  for  their  favorite  amusement.  '  We  will  go,'  said 
they, '  and  crowd  out  the  old  fellows,  and  let  Mr.  H.  see  that 
for  once  he  has  enough  young  people  at  his  prayer-meeting.' 

"  When  I  came  to  the  house,  I  was  not  a  little  surprised  to 
see  two  rooms  and  the  entry  filled  with  people,  the  most  of 
whom  had  never  been  seen  in  such  a  place  before  ;  and,  as  I 
entered  the  room,  to  see  the  seats  previously  occupied  by  a  few 
praying  persons  now  filled  by  some  of  the  most  profligate  youth 
in  our  village.  The  first  prayer  was  made  by  an  aged  Christian, 
who  is  the  only  surviving  member  of  the  meeting  when  it  was 
established,  forty  years  ago.  His  prayer  was  solemn  and  im- 
pressive. An  address  was  then  made  from  these  words  :  Coine 
now,  and  let  us  reason  together.  No  attempt  was  made  to 
work  upon  the  passions.  The  youth,  in  an  especial  manner, 
were  exhorted  to  consider  the  reasonableness  of  giving  their 
hearts  to  God,  and  consecrating  the  best  of  their  lives  to  his 
service.  The  assembly  was  unusually  solemn.  These  during 
youth  were  made  to  tremble  under  the  word.  Numbers  were 
evidently  pricked  to  the  heart.  Their  tears,  which  they  made 
great  exertions  to  conceal,  betrayed  an  awakened  conscience. 
Such  a  scene  had  never  before  been  witnessed  by  any  person 
present. 

"  No  disturbance  was  made.  All  retired  in  solemn  silence. 
Twelve  or  fifteen  of  the  youth,  who  came  with  an  intention  of 
disturbing  the  meeting,  went  away  trembling  under  a  sense  of 
guilt.  As  they  had  no  suspicion  of  each  others'  feelings,  each 
made  an  eSbrt  to  conceal  his  own.  One  of  them  has  since  said, 
supposing  that  none  of  his  companions  felt  as  he  did,  and  that 
he  should  be  unable  to  conceal  his  feelings,  he  crossed  a  corn- 
field and  went  home  unobserved.  Another  said,  while  walking 
the  street  he  assumed  an  unusual  gayety  to  conceal  his  feelings, 


POWER   OF   THE   EEVIVAL.  171 

although  the  terrors  of  his  miud  were  such  that  it  appeared  to 
him  the  earth  would  open  and  swallow  him  up. 

"  One,  who  had  not  been  in  the  house,  made  an  effort  to  stop 
the  young  23eople  in  the  street,  to  concert  a  plan  for  the  contem- 
plated ball ;  but  his  efforts  were  vain — all  hurried  home.  After 
the  people  retired,  four  or  five  young  women,  who  had  waited 
in  a  back  room,  came  in  the  room  where  the  family  were  sitting, 
wringing  their  hands,  and  exclaimed,  '  Oh,  Mr.  H.,  what  shall 
we  do  ? '  After  giving  them  such  instruction  as  their  case 
seemed  to  require,  I  engaged  to  meet  with  them  the  next  even- 
ing. These,  with  a  number  of  others,  met  the  next  evening  in 
conference.  Saturday  afternoon  we  again  met  in  conference.  The 
beginning  of  the  next  week,  the  number  under  serious  impressions 
had  become  too  great  to  be  accommodated  at  a  private  house. 

"Within  a  mile  of  the  church  we  have  an  academy  and  two 
large  school-houses.  It  was  agreed  to  hold  our  conferences  at 
these,  alternately.  Our  assemblies,  on  these  occasions,  were 
frequently  so  large  we  were  obliged  to  repair  to  the  church. 
Sabbath  and  Wednesday  evening  we  had  stated  lecture  in  the 
church.  Our  assemblies  were  all  solemn,  but  without  noise  or 
disorder.  After  the  usual  exercises  of  our  evening  meetings 
were  concluded,  it  was  often  difficult  to  persuade  the  people  to 
retire.  Indeed,  this  was  impossible,  until  they  were  left  by 
those  to  whom  they  looked  for  instruction. 

"  One  evening,  after  the  benediction  had  been  pronounced, 
the  whole  assembly  stood  in  solid  column.  Scarcely  an  indi- 
vidual moved  from  his  place.  Such  evidences  of  deep  and  heart- 
felt sorrow  I  never  witnessed  before,  on  any  occasion.  While 
all  stood  in  solemn  silence,  there  seemed  a  greater  appearance 
of  solemnity  than  during  any  part  of  the  previous  exercises. 
Sometimes  it  seemed  we  had  only  to  stand  still  and  see  the  sal- 
vation of  God.  It  seemed,  indeed,  that  the  Lord  was  there, 
and  that  he  gave  us  an  example  of  his  immediate  work  upon 
the  conscience  and  the  heart. 


172  TOWNSHIP    OF    ORANGE. 

■'  If  it  were  proper  for  me  to  go  further  iato  detail,  I  might 
mention  other  scenes  similar  to  this.  Within  two  weeks  from 
the  commencement  of  the  work,  more  than  one  hundred  were 
deeply  impressed.  A  visible  change  seemed  to  be  produced 
throughout  the  village.'' 

The  cliurch  received  much  strength  from  this  re- 
markable work,  one  hundred  and  fortj-five  persons 
being  ackled  to  its  communion  in  the  course  of  the 
next  year.  So  large  an  ingathering  belongs  to  no 
other  year  of  its  history. 

Orange  had  continued,  till  about  this  time,  to  be 
a  part  of  the  township  of  Newark.  In  1806  it  was 
organized  as  a  town,  under  the  name  it  now  bears. 
The  new  township  was  consecrated  by  a  glorious 
baptism ! 

About  tlie  close  of  the  year  1808,  Nathaniel 
Bruen  and  David  Munn  were  chosen  elders.  The 
latter,  though  his  name  appears  at  two  or  three 
meetings  of  Session,  declined  the  appointment,  and 
was  never  set  apart  to  the  office  by  ordination. 

In  1809,  an  addition  was  made  to  the  pastor's 
salary,  raising  the  amount  paid  in  money  from  $625 
to  $800. 

By  the  separation  of  the  town  from  Newark,  it 
became  necessary  for  the  church  to  change  its  cor- 
porate name.  The  legislature  being  applied  to, 
changed  its  title,  in  1811,  from  the  Second  Presby- 
terian Church  in  Newark  to  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Oranw. 


HONORABLE   TRUSTS,  173 

It  was  during  this  year  Mr.  Hillyer  was  made  a 
trustee  o'f  tlie  College  of  New  Jersey— an  office  wliicli 
he  held  to  the  close  of  life,  and  which  Vv-as  accom- 
panied  with  a  sincere  and  active  devotion  to  the 
interests  of  the  institution.  He  was  also  chosen,  in 
1812,  one  of  the  first  directors  of  the  Theological 
Seminary  at  Princeton.  This  appointrpent  was 
regularly  renewed  until  the  disruption  of  the 
church ;  and,  also,  subsequently  to  that  event,  after 
a  single  omission.  These  important  trusts,  held  for 
a  quarter  of  a  century,  are  indicative  at  once  of  a 
generous  public  spirit,  of  persistent  good-will  to- 
ward those  from  whom  he  was  ecclesiastically  sepa- 
rated, and  of  established  confidence  in  his  integrity 
and  administrative  ability. 

A  similar  confidence,  on  the  part  of  his  people, 
was  manifested,  and  also  justified,  in  the  success  of 
an  important  enterprise  within  the  parish,  which  is 
said  to  have  originated  with  him.  This  was  the 
erection  of  a  new  and  larger  temple  in  which  to 
worship  God.  Time,  and  the  progress  of  popula- 
tion, had  created  what  seemed  to  him  a  necessity 
for  this.  He  proposed  it.  Some  approved,  and 
some  objected.  Some  thought  it  feasible,  and  some 
impossible.  He  asked  certain  persons  of  the  latter 
class,  if  they  would  favor  the  undertaking,  provided 
he  would  secure  the  subscription  of  a  certain  sum 
of  money  which  he  named.  They  answered  him, 
Yes.     He  started  out  with  his  paper  on  Monday, 


174  THIRD   MEETING-HOUSE. 

and  by  the  close  of  the  week  had  procured  double 
the  amount  specified.  We  learn,  from  MV.  Moses 
Harrison,  that  his  father,  Jared  Harrison,  opened 
the  subscription  with  $500.  A  laudable  emulation 
was  awakened.  Those  who  refused  donations  stood 
ready  to  purchase  })ews.  The  thought,  once  fairly 
before  the  people,  kindled  desire,  and  desire  led  to 
action. 

The  initial  steps  of  the  enterprise  were  taken  in 
1811.  At  the  parish  meeting  in  May,  the  trustees 
were  authorized  to  purchase  a  half  acre  of  ground 
for  a  site,  lying  on  the  north  side  of  the  road  in  the 
rear  of  the  church.  It  was  purchased  of  Stephen 
D.  Day,  for  $400.  The  next  year  the  work  began, 
under  the  direction  of  the  trustees,  assisted  by  a 
building  committee.  It  was  voted  by  the  parish 
that  the  front  and  sides  of  the  new  edifice  should 
be  built  of  dressed  stone,  the  rear  of  undressed. 
The  trustees  were  at  first  instructed  to  have  the 
work  done  by  contract,  but  these  instructions  were 
subsequently  recalled,  the  matter  being  left  to  their 
discretion.  They  accordingly  employed  an  archi- 
tect and  proceeded  with  the  work,  manj^  members 
of  the  parish  preferring  to  turn  in  their  labor  on 
their  subscription  account.  The  principal  architect 
was  Moses  Dodd,  who  received,  for  his  services, 
three  dollars  a  day.  We  have  found  no  written 
details  relating  to  the  progress  of  the  work,  but  we 
are  told  by  Mr.  Adonijah  Osraun,  that  the  corner 


ITS   DIMENSIONS.  175 

Stone  was  laid  tbe  15tli  of  September,  1812.  At 
the  meeting  of  the  parish,  the  next  April,  it  was 
voted  to  take  down  the  old  meeting-house,  for  the 
purpose  of  using  its  material  in  the  construction  of 
the  new.  The  double  work  of  demolition  and  edi- 
fication followed, — the  Sabbath  assembly,  in  a  meas- 
ure broken  up  and  reduced  in  immbers,^  being  for 
several  months  held  elsewhere.  The  stone  tablet, 
over  the  door  of  the  demolished  edifice,  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  inside  of  the  tower  in  the  uew,  where 
the  inscription  upon  its  face  may  yet  be  read,  unob- 
scured  by  the  mould  which  has  gathered  upon  its 
contemporaries  in  the  old  graveyard. 

A  goodly  sanctuary  was  reared,  considerably  ex- 
ceeding the  dimensions  of  its  predecessor.  It  had 
a  front  of  sixty-three  feet,  and  a  depth  of  ninety  in 
the  central  and  longest  part,  the  rear  wall  having  a 
curvature  or  convexity  of  four  or  five  feet.  This 
length  does  not  include  the  projection  of  the  tower 
in  front,  which  was  four  feet.  The  walls  had  an 
elevation  of  about  thirty-six  feet  to  the  roof  The 
tower,  eighteen  and  a  half  feet  wide,  was  carried 
up  to  the  top  of  the  building.  The  steeple  was  re- 
served for  the  work  of  another  year.  Three  large 
folding- doors  admitted  the  worshipper  to  the  vesti- 
bule. Two  opened  from  that  into  the  audience- 
room,  connecting  with  two  aisles  between  which,  at 
the  hither  end,  stood  the  pulpit.  The  house  had 
double  rows  of  windows,  which  numbered  ten  on 


176  THE  OLD  BELL. 

each  side,  six  at  the  rear  end,  and  three  in  front, 
exclusive  of  lights  above  the  doors.  Galleries  at 
the  sides  and  end  rose  above  the  pulpit  in  sublimity 
of  position,  if  they  were  not  always  to  equal  it  in 
sublimity  of  thought  and  solemnity  of  feeling- 
These,  for  some  time  to  come,  were  to  be  kept  in 
order  by  a  Sunday  police  stationed  at  suitable  dis- 
tances. 

The  bell,  taken  down  from  its  modest  quarters  in 
the  old  steeple,  was  suspended  on  a  pole  to  perform 
its  last  offices  in  calling  the  "workmen  to  their  tasks. 
A  calamity  had  befallen  it  some  time  previously, 
of  which  it  still  bore  the  mark.  The  tongue  hav- 
ing dropped  out  when  its  voice  was  needed  on  a 
funeral  occasion,  was  taken  by  the  bell-ringer  and 
struck  upon  the  rim  of  the  bell,  by  which  a  frac- 
ture was  produced.  The  bell  was  taken  to  a  smith, 
who  attempted  to  weld  the  fracture.  Instead  of 
this,  a  piece  was  melted  out.  The  failure,  however, 
proved  a  success,  for  the  tone  of  the  bell  was  in  a 
good  measure  restored.  Having  in  this  condition 
continued  to  do  duty,  it  was  now,  as  we  have 
stated,  put  to  a  useful  service  in  signaling  the  hours 
of  labor.  But  it  was  destined  to  share  the  fate  of 
the  old  church — bequeathing  its  metal,  while  losing 
its  individuality.  As  the  new  house  went  up  and 
the  work  drew  near  completion,  a  workman  named 
William  Halsey,  to  secure  the  parish  against  possi- 
bilities which  excited  uneasiness  in  some  minds. 


THE    THIKD    MEETING-HOUSE. 


DEDICATION,  177 

gave  the  bell  a  finishing  stroke  with  his  hammer. 
A  piercing  knell — and  the  tongue  which  had  so 
long  discoursed  solemnly  of  eternity  and  sweetly  of 
heaven,  which  had  called  a  generation  to  their 
nightly  repose  and  to  their  weekly  devotions,  which 
had  been  the  music  of  their  lives  and  a  mourner  at 
their  burial,  was  silent  forever ! 

The  new  building  (except  the  steeple)  went  up 
during  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1813.  The  date 
of  its  dedication  Ave  have  not  been  able  to  deter- 
mine. According  to  the  recollections  of  some  who 
were  present,  it  occurred  in  the  month  of  Decem- 
ber, the  weather  being  quite  cold,  Mr.  Hillyer 
preached.  The  assembly  was  large  and  the  occa- 
sion inspiring.  Taking  a  text  from  Genesis  28  :  17> 
he  thus  congratulated  his  audience,  who  were  now 
partakers  of  his  joy  as  they  had  been  of  his  toil 
and  hope  : 

"  My  Brethren  : — The  circumstances  in  which 
we  meet  this  morning  are  calculated  to  inspire  us 
all  with  unfeigned  gratitude  and  lively  joy.  By 
the  good  providence  of  our  God,  a  work  of  great 
labor  and  expense  is  so  far  accomplished  that  we 
may  this  day  begin  to  enjoy  its  fruits.  If  we  look 
back  to  the  moment  when,  with  solicitude  and 
trembling  hope,  we  laid  the  corner-stone,  and  con- 
sider the  rapidity  and  safetj^  with  which  'the  work 
has  progressed — that  in  a  little  more  than  twelve 
months  this  large,  convenient  and  beautiful  build- 


178  MR.   HILLYEli's  SERMON. 

ing  Las  been  thus  far  completed — that  in  all  the 
dangers  to  which  a  numerous  body  of  useful 
mechanics  and  laborers  have  been  exposed,  not  a 
life  has  been  lost,  nor  a  bone  broken* — \yhat  heart 
does  not  feel,  and  what  tongue  does  not  confess, 
that  this  is  the  finger  of  God  ?  We  are  permitted 
in  health  and  in  peace  to  assemble  around  these 
altars,  and  by  prayer  and  thanksgiving  dedicate 
this  house  to  our  God  and  Kedeemer," 

Words  equally  earnest,  and  which  have  not  yet 
lost  their  fitness  or  force,  were  heard  as  the  speaker 
drew  his  discourse  to  a  close.  Tlie  thoughts 
evolved  from  his  subject  and  from  the  occasion, 
were  thus  brought  home  to  his  congregation: 

"  The  God  of  Jacob  has  given  you  a  Bethel — 
not  in  the  wilderness,  not  in  exile  from  domestic 
endearments,  not  in  circumstances  of  poverty  and 
want,  but  in  circumstances  happily  adapted  to 
spiritual  improvement.     Let  me  beseech  you,  my 

*  This  was  true ;  3'et  one  of  the  workmen  (David  S.  Rofl")  had 
fiillen  from  the  scaffolding,  when  tlie  wall  was  within  one  tier  of 
the  top.  By  a  singvalar  providence  he  fell  where  a  pile  of  sand  was 
or  had  been  lying,  and  thus  escaped  being  broken  on  the  frag- 
ments and  chips  of  stone  which  covered  the  ground  all  around  the 
spot.  Those  who  saw  him  fall  observed  that  he  rebounded  from 
the  ground  a  foot  or  two.  It  was  on  the  east  side  of  the  building. 
The  accident  was  occasioned  by  stepping  on  a  loose  bit  of  stone. 
The  injury  did  not  prove  serious.  Josiah  Frost  was  standing 
where  he  fell.  Hearing  the  noise,  ho  looked  up,  saw  the  man  de- 
scending, and  had  just  time  to  save  himself  by  stepping  a.-<ide. 


EARNEST  WORDS.  179 

brethren,  to  look  around  with  suitable  emotions  of 
gratitude  and  praise  upon  this  spacious  and  con- 
venient temple  of  the  Lord,  whose  doors  are  opened 
.to  invite  you  and  your  children  to  the  gospel  feast. 
And  realize  the  obligations  you  are  under  to  attend 
constantly  and  devoutly  on  all  the  duties  of  the 
sanctuary.  A  solemn  responsibility  attaches  to 
every  member  of  this  congregation.  No  excuse 
can  be  ordinarily  made  for  his  absence,  who  has 
health  and  strength  to  come  to  these  courts.  If 
any  now  neglect  the  public  worship  of  God,  it  be- 
comes them  very  seriously  to  consider  what  excuse 
they  will  make  at  the  great  day  of  account.  Let  no 
one  suffer  his  seat  to  be  empty  unless  imperious  ne- 
cessity compel  him.  Let  your  example  never  en- 
courage the  negligence  of  others.  Let  parents  and 
heads  of  families  learn  their  indispensable  obliga- 
tion, not  only  to  be  present  themselves,  but  to  be 
careful  that  their  children,  their  servants,  and  all 
under  their  care  attend  constantly  upon  the  public 
worship  of  God.  Soon  3^ou  must  leave  your  chil- 
dren, and  upon  them  the  interests  of  the  church  and 
of  religion  will  devolve.  Oh,  how  important,  before 
you  die,  you  should  see  in  your  children  and  those 
who  are  to  follow  you  the  habit  formed  of  constant 
and  devout  attention  to  the  public  institutions  of 
religion !" 

The  younger  part  of  his  flock  were  thus  admon- 
ished : 


180  BUILDING    OF   .STKEPLE. 

"Eemember,  this  house  v/as  in  a  peculiar  sense 
built  for  you.  Your  fathers  can  enjoy  it  but  a 
little  while.  Oh,  be  entreated  earl}'-  to  form  the  habit 
of  constant  and  devout  attention  to  the  means  of 
grace  administered  here !  Let  it  not  be  said  of 
you,  my  young  friends,  as  is  the  case  with  too 
many  others,  that  you  prefer  amusement,  idleness, 
or  parties  of  pleasure  to  the  public  worship  of  your 
Grod  and  Eedeeiner." 

Forty-six  years  have  left  but  few  even  of  the 
youth  who  listened  to  these  solemn  counsels. 

The  edifice  thus  consecrated  was  built  at  a  cost 
of  about  $28,000.  A  steeple  was  j^et  nccessarj-  to 
complete  the  design.  This  was  added  in  the  follow- 
ing year  by  a  contract  with  Mr.  Dodd,  the  architect, 
for  $2,750.  The  parish  in  April  voted  that  the 
surplus  money  raised  by  the  sale  of  the  pews  in  the 
new  church  remain  in  the  hands  of  the  trustees,  to 
defray  the  expense  of  finishing  the  house,  pur- 
chasing a  bell  and  chandeliers,  and  fencing  the 
church  lot.  The  fund  at  interest  amounted  at  this 
time  to  about  $6,000,  the  most  of  it  secured  by 
bond  and  mort2;ao;e. 

Among  these  securities  was  a  mortgage  on  the 
"Orange  Dock,"  for  the  sum  of  $750,  given  by 
Jacob  Plum,  and  bearing  date  the  25th  of  jMay, 
1812.  From  the  sale  of  the  dock  we  infer  that  the 
sloop  owned  by  the  parisli  was  likewise  sold  about 
this  time,   the  whole   capital    thus   inve^^ted  being 


MINERAL  SPUING.  181 

probably  absorbed  in  tlic  new  cburcli  building. 
We  learn  that  some  difficulty  was  experienced  in 
the  adjustment  of  the  claims  of  private  stockholders. 
Those  claims  were,  however,  satisfied,  and  the 
whole  shipping  interest  transferred  to  the  common 
fund. 

Orange  was  at  this  time  celebrated  as  a  watering- 
'place.  The  chalybeate  spring,  which  now  adds  its 
attractions  to  the  romantic  and  tasteful  grounds  of 
Mr.  Pillot,  was  much  resorted  to  as  a  public  foun- 
tain of  health.  Near  by  was  a  boarding  hotel, 
which  has  since  been  transformed  into  the  mansion 
occupied  by  the  gentleman  just  named.  Every 
season  brought  to  this  spot  hundreds  of  invalids 
and  pleasure-seekers,  whose  presence  added  a  new 
feature  to  the  social  character  of  the  place,  and 
swelled  perceptibly  the  large  assemblies  which  on 
the  Sabbath  received  from  Mr.  Hillyer's  lips  the 
word  of  life.  The  mineral  spring,  it  is  said,  was 
"  once  the  most  fashionable  place  of  resort  in  the 
United  States.  Up  to  1824,  Orange  was  the  great 
American  Saratoga.  "''■ 

There  was  a  class  of  worshippers  in  the  new 
sanctuary  for  whose  accommodation  special  provi- 
sion was  made.  They  are  brought  to  our  notice  in 
a  resolution  of  the  parish  in  1815,  requesting  the 
trustees  "to,  call  on  the  slaveholders  for  the  annuity 

*  See.  Specimen  Number  of  the  Orange  Journal.  .Jan.  7,  1854^ 

9 


182  PROVISION  roii  slaves. 

on  the  pews  set  apart  for  their  slaves."  This  was 
five  years  before  the  emancipation  act,  and  ten 
years  before  it  began  to  take  eflfect  in  the  dissolu- 
tion of  the  servile  bond.*  It  is  gratifying  to  know 
that  while  the  day  of  emancipation  was  dawning, 
the  light  of  the  gospel  was  already  shining  on  this 
portion  of  the  population.  The  first  Sunday-school 
in  this  parish  was  established  for  their  benefit  in 
1816. 

The  demolition  of  the  old  meeting-house  was  to 
be  followed  not  long  after  by  the  abandonment  of 
the  parsonage — four  years  its  senior  in  age.  This 
event  was  occasioned  by  a  conviction  in  Mrs.  Hill- 
yer's  mind  that  her  health,  which  was  delicate,  was 
injuriously  affected  by  her  residence  there.  In 
consequence  of  this  impression,  Mr.  Ilillyer  remov- 
ed in  1815  to  a  wooden  house  on  the  corner  of  the 
street  which  bears  his  name.  It  is  now  the  resi- 
dence of  his  son-in-law.  Dr.  William  Pierson.  The 
parish  this  year  resolved  to  pay  $200  in  lieu  of  the 
wood  formerly  provided  for  him. 

The  temple  so  recently  consecrated  was  receiv- 
ing evidences  that  the  Lord  of  hosts  had  made  His 

*  By  the  act  of  February,  1820,  children  born  of  slave  parents 
subsequent  to  July  4,  1804,  were  to  become  free,  the  females  upon 
arrivhig  at  twenty -one,  the  males  at  twenty-five  years  of  age.  The 
slave  population  of  the  State  reached  its  maximum  (12,122)  in 
1800.  In  1810  it  was  10,857.  In  1850,  there  were  236  slaves; 
23,810  free  colored. 


REVIVAL   OF    1817.  183 

abode  there.  His  people  had  proved  Him  with 
their  offerings;  a  blessing  was  poured  out  upon 
them  in  return.  Before  their  work  was  finished  in 
building  him  a  house,  a  special  work  of  grace  was 
going  on.  This  is  indicated  by  the  fruits  gathered 
in  during  the  year  1814,  when  thirty-one  persons 
took  the  vow  of  obedience  at  the  altars  of  "the  new 
sanctuary.  Things  more  glorious  were  to  be  spo- 
ken of  Zion  three  years  later,  when  there  came  an- 
other general  awakening.  In  Newark,  Elizabeth- 
town,  Bloomfield,  Caldwell,  Connecticut  Farms, 
and  other  places,  the  Si3irit  came  down  with  signal 
power. 

The  first  manifestations  of  the  work  here  were  in 
the  autumn  of  1816.  The  weekly  meetings  held 
in  the  academy  began  to  assume  an  unusual  inter- 
est. Such  was  the  attendance  that  the  place  be- 
came too  strait,  and  the  services  were  transferred 
to  the  church.  Additional  appointments  were  also 
made,  both  for  preaching  and  prayer,  in  Doddtown 
and  other  neighborhoods.  Two  young  men  from 
Princeton,  Messrs,  Barnes  and  Riggs,  assisted  Mr. 
Hillyer  several  weeks. 

The  praying  men  of  the  parish  were  at  work  in 
their  several  localities,  and  on  the  morning  of  the 
Sabbath  might  be  seen  coming  together  from  each 
point  of  the  compass,  to  intercede  for  the  Spirit's 
presence,  and  for  a  blessing  on  the  word.  Of  this 
number  was  Elder  John  Perry — a  personal  illustra- 


184  MEN   OF  PRAYER. 

tion  of  the  proverb  that  "the  legs  of  the  lame  are 
not  equal,"  but  demonstrating  no  less  the  truth  of 
the  promise,  that  "the  lame  man  shall  leap  as  a 
hart,  and  the  tongue  of  the  dumb  sing  ;  for  in  the 
wilderness  shall  waters  break  out,  and  streams  in 
the  desert."  It  might  have  been  said  of  him  with 
very  little  of  poetic  exaggeration :  "  Behold,  he 
Cometh  leajoing  upon  the  mountains,  skipping  upon 
the  hills,"  His  mountain  home  was  not  too  high 
nor  too  distant  for  him  to  descend  from  it,  though 
with  uneven,  limping  pace,  to  the  solemn  convoca- 
tions of  the  house  of  prayer ;  and  having  waited 
upon  the  Lord,  and  with  tears  entreated  men,  he 
would  return  to  his  home  in  the  promised  strength 
and  joy  of  the  Lord,  mounting  up  with  wings  as 
eagles.  Associated  with  him  in  the  work,  and  in 
official  responsibility,  were  the  two  Joseph  Pier- 
sons,  Amos  Harrison,  Linus  Dodd,  Moses  Condit, 
John  Lindsley,  Adonijah  Osmun,  and  Daniel  Con- 
dit ;  not  all  of  them  men  of  like  zeal,  but  men 
whom  the  church  delighted  to  honor,  and  whose 
prayers  prevailed  with  God.  We  could  wish 
that  the  scenes  of  that  revival  had  some  other 
record  than  the  unwritten  memories  of  them  which 
remain.  Such  indeed  they  have,  but  the  record  is 
on  high. 

The  particulars  here  furnished  are  from  the  re- 
collections of  one  who  was  a  subject  of  the  revival. 
His  own  mind  was  wrought  upon  with  great  power. 


SUNDAY  -  SCHOOLS.  185 

At  night,  lie  says,  he  looked  upon  the  heavens, 
and  thought  how  these  declared  their  Maker's  glory, 
while  he,  His  rational  creature,  had  done  nothing 
but  rebel  against  Him.  In  every  star  that  shone, 
and  in  every  object  of  nature  and  blessing  of  prov- 
idence, he  seemed  to  meet  an  accuser.  And  so 
completely  was  his  mind  engrossed  and  oyprwhelm- 
ed  with  the  thoughts  of  his  own  guilty  condition 
and  exposure  to  the  anger  of  a  Holy  God,  that  for 
a  considerable  time  he  scarcely  took  note  of  what 
related  to  others.*  Many  others  there  were,  who 
were  passing  through  a  like  experience.  The 
records  of  the  session  for  the  year  1817,  show  an 
ingathering  of  one  hundred  and  thirteen  souls,  the 
hopeful  trophies  of  recovering  grace. 

A  blessed  and  permanent  institution  of  the 
church — the  Sabbath-school — grew  out  of  this  re- 
vival, or  had  its  origin  in  it.  We  have  spoken  of 
a  school  instituted  for  the  colored  people.  Another, 
for  the  benefit  of  the  children  and  youth  of  the 
congregation  generally,  was  established  in  1817. 
The  two  schools  assembled  in  the  upper  and  lower 
rooms  of  the  academy.     Among  those  who  devoted 

*  Mr.  Nicol,  now  an  elder  in  the  Second  Church.  Mr.  Osmun, 
his  venerable  colleague,  was  a  subject  of  the  revival  of  1807.  The 
latter  relates  to  me  that  Dr.  Griffin,  being  once  in  Orange,  after  he 
had  preached  here,  and  meeting  Elder  John  Perry,  saluted  him  on 
this  wise :  "  Well,  brother  Perry,  you  are  still  limping  along  to- 
ward heaven,  are  you  ?" — "  The  first  part  is  true,"  was  the  reply. 


186  BIBLE  SOCIETY. 

themselves  to  the  religious  instruction  of  the  colored 
population — then  in  servitude — was  a  daughter  of 
the  pastor,  one  who  is  yet  with  us,  and  yet  un- 
wearied in  the  Christian  labors  that  engaged  her 
youthful  love. 

There  sprang  from  the  same  revival  another  in- 
stitution not  now  existing,  though  its  spirit  lives. 
This  was  the  Orange  Bible  Society.  The  National 
Society  having  been  organized  the  year  previous,  a 
local  society  in  furtherance  of  the  same  object,  "  in 
our  own  vicinity,"  was  formed  here,  Nov.  1,  1817. 
One  dollar  was  the  price  of  admission  to  its  mem- 
bership ;  ten  dollars  to  a  life-membership.  Mr. 
Hilly er  took  an  active  interest  in  the  enterprise, 
drew  up  the  constitution,  and  was  chosen  Vice- 
President.  The  society  does  not  appear  from  its 
books  to  have  been  a  highly  efficient  one.  The 
members  paid  pretty  regularly  their  dollar  a  year 
till  1828,  when  the  books  were  closed,  the  aggTe- 
gate  receipts  for  eleven  years  being  $250.65. 

In  the  spring  of  1817,  "the  trustees  and  com- 
mittee appointed  at  a  late  parish-meeting  to  make 
aiTangements  with  Mr.  Hillyer  respecting  a  parson- 
age," reported^ — 

"  That  they  had  agreed  with  Mr.  Hillyer  to 
raise  his  salary  to  $1120  per  year ;  on  condition 
that  he  would  relinquish  his  claim  to  the  old  par- 
sonage-house and  one  half  acre  of  land  adjoining,  a 
quarter  of  an  acre  adjoining  Samuel  W.  Tichenor, 


NATIONAL   SOCIETIES,  187 

a  quarter  of  an  acre  adjoining  Allen  Dodd,  and  all 
the  land  owned  by  the  parish  on  the  south  side  of 
the  road.  They  further  reported  that  they  had  con- 
ferred with  Mr.  Hilly er  on  the  subject,  and  that  he 
was  satisfied  with  the  arrangement.  The  meeting  ap- 
proved and  confirmed  the  contract  by  a  solemn 
vote,  and  authorized  the  trustees  to  use  tjie  above- 
mentioned  pieces  of  land  to  enable  them  to  fulfil 
the  contract  on  their  part." 

The  great  idea  of  religious  beneficence,  and  of 
Christianity  as  a  grand  power  for  reforming  the 
world,  was  at  this  period  seizing  the  best  and  most 
vigorous  intellects  of  the  country  as  it  had  never  be- 
fore done.  In  1809  was  formed  the  American  Board ; 
in  1814,  the  American  Tract  Society  (of  Boston) ;  in 
1816,  the  American  Bible  Society;  in  1817,  the 
American  Colonization  Society,  and  (within  the 
Presbyterian  church)  the  United  Foreign  Mission- 
ary Society.  This  last  Mr.  Hillyer  assisted  to  form, 
and  he  gave  his  earnest  sympathies  to  the  rest,  as  he 
did  subsequently  to  the  Education  Society  (1818), 
the  Sunday  School  Union  (1821),  the  American 
Tract  Society  at  New  York  (1825),  the  Home  Mis- 
sionary Society  (1826),  the  Seamen's  Friend  Society 
(1828).  It  will  be  seen  from  the  dates  how  rapidly 
these  institutions  sprang  up  during  his  ministry. 
They  found  in  his  liberal  views,  and  his  warm 
sympathy  with  whatever  could  benefit  man,  a  sure 
ground  of  support. 


183  REVIVAL   OF   1825. 

During  tlie  year  1818,  in  tlie  full  ripeness  of  liis 
mind  and  ministry,  he  received  from  Alleghany 
college  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity.  The 
honor  was  worn  as  modestly  as  worthily. 

The  church  had  at  this  time  o-rown  to  a  member- 
ship  of  520.  At  about  this  number  it  stood,  till 
the  years  1824-5  brought  another  Pentecost.  In 
this  revival  Dr.  Hillyer  was  assisted  by  a  young 
man  from  Greenfield,  N.  Y.,  who  had  then  just 
completed   his   theological  studies   at   Princeton.* 

*  The  young  man  alluded  to  was  James  Wood,  now  Eev.  Dr. 
Wood,  President  of  Hanover  College,  Ind.  He  was  from  my  na- 
tive parish.  When  I  visited  Philadelphia  in  June  last,  to  obtain 
some  material  for  this  history  from  the  library  of  the  Presbyterian 
Historical  Society,  he  was  just  closing  his  labors  as  one  of  the 
Secretaries  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Education.  j\Iy  business, 
which  led  me  to  his  room,  at  once  interested  him  ;  and  he  related 
an  anecdote  of  Dr.  Hillyer  which  is  worth  preserving.  The  inci- 
dent was  told  him  by  the  latter  when  he  was  with  him  in  the  re- 
vival above  mentioned. 

A  Methodist  clergyman  sometime  previously  had  visited  Orange, 
and  preached  at  a  private  house  where  a  lady  of  that  denomination 
resided.  There  were  at  that  time  very  few  Methodists  in  the 
place.  It  was  the  evening  of  Dr.  Hillyer's  lecture,  and  the  Doctor, 
on  his  way  home  froui  his  own  service,  passing  the  place,  saw 
quite  a  crowd  assembled,  some  of  them  standing  outside  the  door, 
among  whom  was  a  man  of  his  own  society,  who  seldom  went  to 
church.  The  next  day,  meeting  this  man,  the  conversation  turned 
upon  the  Methodist  preacher,  and  he  was  asked  what  he  thought 
of  him.  "  AVhy,  I  thought  this,"  rephed  Dr.  H.,  "that  I  ought  to 
be  thankful  to  God  for  sending  a  man  here  to  preach  His  gospel 
who  can  get  the  attention  of  such  men  as  you.    My  preaching  does 


DEED   OF  THE  ACADEMY.  189 

We  know  not  fhe  particular  aspects  of  tlie  work. 
Nearly  a  liundred  conversions  Avere  reported  the 
next  spring.  As  in  previous  revivals,  the  awaken- 
ing was  simultaneous  in  Orange  and  Newark. 

Some  changes  worthy  of  notice  occurred  about 
this  time,  affecting  the  Orange  Academy.  Mr. 
Hillyer,  like  his  predecessor,  had  served  the  institu- 
tion as  a  trustee  and  a  patron.  In  1828,  we  find 
associated  with  him  as  trustees,  Stephen  D.  Day, 
Doctor  Daniel  Babbit,  John  M.  Lindsley,  Daniel  D. 
Condit,  Abraham  Winans  and  Samuel  W.  Tiche- 
nor.  Of  those  who  originally  held  the  property  by 
a  deed  of  trust,  John  Condit  was  yet  living,  but 
had  removed  to  Jersey  City.  It  was  necessary  the 
title  should  now  rest  in  others,  and  accordingly,  in 
November,  1823,  it  was  conveyed  by  him  to  the 
acting  board  of  trustees.  The  terms  of  the  deed  in- 
dicate that  the  Academy  had  ceased  to  be,  if  it  ever 
was  such,  in  any  sense  a  parochial  institution ;  *  it 

you  no  good,  for  you  don't  come  to  hear  it.  If  another  can  draw 
you  out,  I  shall  be  glad,  and  still  more  if  lie  is  made  an  instrument 
in  bringing  you  into  the  kingdom  of  God."  The  result  was,  that 
the  man  was  seen  at  Dr.  Hillyer's  next  inquiry  meeting,  and  was 
soon  a  member  of  his  church. 

*  The  deed  says :  "  To  be  kept  and  held  by  the  trustees  of  the 
aforesaid  academy  forever  in  trust,  {agreeable  to  the  above  conveyance 
to  myself  and  others,  which  is  as  follows)  :  for  all  the  inhabitants  in 
general  of  the  place  and  neiyhhorhood  of  Orange,  to  he  and  remain  a 
place  fur  an  academy,  which  shall  be  for  the  use  of  a  jjuhlic  school. 
Furthermore,  it  is  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of  these  presents,'' 

9* 


190  RELIGIOUS  CHANGES. 

being  a£Qrnied  to  be  "  the  true  intent  and  meaning" 
of  the  conveyance,  "  tbat  no  particular  sect  or  pro- 
fession of  people  in  said  place  shall  have  any  right 
to  said  premises  on  account  of  the  profits  which 
may  arise  from  it  more  than  another ;  but  it  shall 
be  and  remain  for  the  purpose  of  a  good  public  and 
moral  school  of  learning,  for  the  use  of  all  the  in- 
habitants which  now  are  or  ever  shall  be  in  said 
Orange,  to  the  end  of  time."  These  terms  indicate 
the  religious  changes  which  thirty-eight  years  had 
gradually  effected  in  the  community. 

Yet  the  population  of  Orange,  until  this  period, 
adhered  so  generally  to  the  doctrines  and  polity  of 
the  Presbyterian  church,  that  no  movement  was 
made  to  collect  a  congregation  on  any  other  basis. 
Persons  who  belonged  to  other  communions,  or 
were  drawn  to  them,  either  went  to  Newark  to 
worship,  or  consented  to  forego  their  preferences. 
It  speaks  much  for  the  vitality  of  our  system,  that 
it  struck  its  life  so  deep,  and  maintained  its  growth 
so  loijg,  without  decay  and  without  division.  It 
was  guarded  and  fostered  by  no  State  patronage. 
It  was  planted  in  a  field  open  to  the  freest  competi- 

&c.  Tho  quotation  from  the  original  conveyance  shows  that  the 
institution  had  never,  in  form,  been  denominational ;  while  the 
furthermore  shows  that  something  more  explicit  upon  the  point 
was  now  felt  to  be  needed  in  the  title.  It  may  be  added  that  tliia 
was  inadvertently  given  by  Mr.  Condit  in  his  own  right,  and  not 
as  a  trustee  ;  a  defect  subsequently  remedied  by  the  Legislature. 


ST.  mark's  church.  191 

tion.  Yet  it  held  the  ground,  almost  unquestioned, 
for  a  century.  Evidently  it  bad  taken  deep  root  in 
the  convictions  and  affections  of  a  free,  intelligent 
and  Bible-loving  people.  An  established  church  may 
be  held  up  by  the  civil  arm.  A  lordly  and  showy 
hierarchy,  claiming  apostolic  sanctity, .  and  clothed 
with  mystery  and  magnificence,  may  draw,.the  world 
wondering  after  it  by  its  very  arrogance  and  excess 
of  gorgeous  absurdities.  The  Presbyterian  churches 
of  New  Jersey  borrowed  no  strength  from  these 
sources.  They  claimed  no  exclusive  commission 
from  God.  They  had  no  captivating  ceremonies. 
They  had  neither  monarchy  nor  hierarchy  in  their 
favor.  The  Churcli-of-England  sympathies  of  the 
Provincial  Government  were  long  against  them. 
Whence  came  their  vigorous  life?  What  gave 
them  so  long  and  so  strong  a  position  in  the  intel- 
lects and  hearts  of  men  trained  to  piety  and  thought 
and  freedom  ?  The  question  is  not  asked  invidious- 
ly or  boastfully.  We  would  gratefully  honor  the 
goodness  of  God,  and  we  shall  be  pardoned  for 
calling  attention  to  the  favor  he  has  bestowed  on  a 
church  we  venerate ;  by  those  at  least  who  know 
our  cordial  fellowship  with  others,  drawing  their 
creed  and  life  from  the  Everlasting  Word. 

In  1825,  Rev.  Benjamin  Holmes,  a  missionary 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  residing  in 
Morristown,  made  Orange  a  part  of  his  missionary 
circuit.      Ilis   appointments    here   were   monthly. 


192  DEATH   OF   MRS.   HILLTER. 

At  the  end  of  two  years — April  7,  1827 — a  church 
was  organized.  The  corner-stone  of  a  house  of 
worship  was  laid  May  12,  1828,  and  the  house 
consecrated  February  20,  1829.  In  the  following 
May,  the  church  had  thirteen  communicants  and 
fifty  pew-holders.  In  June,  Rev.  William  R.  Whit- 
tingham,  now  bishop  of  the  Maryland  diocese,  was 
settled  over  it.  He  remai  ned  about  a  year.  The 
church  is  Saint  Mark's,  now  under  the  rectorship 
of  the  Rev,  James  A.  Williams. 

The  coincidence  may  here  be  noted,  that  the 
First  Church  exhibited  at  this  time  the  largest 
membership  it  has  ever  enrolled.  It  reported  in 
1827  more  than  six  hundred  communicants.  It 
had  grown  to  repletion.  The  j)opulation  of  the 
parish  was  increasing.  There  was  a  demand  for 
more  laborers  ;  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  sent  them. 

But  a  cloud  of  sorrow  was  now  gathering  over 
the  pastor's  home.  Many  a  joy  had  inspired  him 
in  his  fruitful  labors.  Richest  blessings  had  de- 
scended upon  his  flock.  He  had  been  a  minister 
of  comfort  to  hundreds  of  mourning  penitents  and 
to  many  afflicted  homes.  He  was  now  to  feel  the 
loss  of  one  who  had  been  often  a  comforter  to  him. 
Mrs.  Hillyer,  whose  health  had  been  long  declin- 
ing, was  removed  by  death,  April  4,  1828.  She 
died  much  regretted,  the  niother  of  four  sons  and 
three  daughters.  The  ladies  of  the  congregation 
caused  a  suitable    headstone   to   be   Dut  over  her 


METHODIST   CHURCH.  193 

grave — a  permanent  memorial  of  tlieir  esteem  and 
sorrow. 

Left  to  a  lonely  ministry  at  the  age  of  sixty-five 
3^ears,  and  having  noAV  one  of  the  largest  parishes 
in  the  State,  Dr.  Hillyer  was  not  averse  to  receiv- 
ing, in  the  year  following  this  bereavement,  the 
assistance  of  a  colleague.  With  this  arrangement 
in  view,  he  entered  into  an  agreement  that  for 
seven  years  succeeding  the  first  of  May,  1829,  he 
would  accept  of  an  annual  salary  of  $920,  instead 
of  the  $1,155  which  he  then  received.  At  the 
expiration  of  that  term,  he  was  to  receive  $800 
per  annum  during  his  natural  life.*  In  the  selec- 
tion of  an  associate,  the  choice  of  the  congregation 
fell  upon  Mr.  George  Pierson,  a  native  of  the  parish. 
Having  finished  his  education  at  Princeton,  and 
preached  here  with  acceptance  as  a  licentiate,  he 
was  ordained  as  co-pastor  June  22,  1829. 

Another  division  of  the  Christian  army  set  up 
soon  their  banner.  It  has  been  thought  to  be  the 
peculiar  mission  of  Methodism  to  do  pioneer  work, 
but  it  has  not  restricted  itself  to  this,  nor  are  its 
capabilities  and  adaptations  limited  to  it.  It  en- 
tered the  field  here  at  a  late  day — at  once  a  gleaner 

•"  By  a  later  agreement,  made  in  1834,  he  accepted  $600  per 
annum,  and  a  donation  of  $1,000.  Tliis  was  after  the  separation 
of  the  Second  Church.  Five-sevenths  of  the  whole  were  to  be 
paid  by  this  Society ;  the  arrangement  to  go  into  effect  from  the 
Ist  of  April,  1833. 


194  PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCHES. 

and  a  cultivator.  A  society  was  formed  in  1829 
by  the  Eev.  (now  Dr.)  Jolm  Kennaday,  who  had 
charge  at  that  time  of  the  Halsey  street  church, 
Newark.  It  numbered  about  fifteen  members. 
He  preached  at  first  in  the  old  Academy,  but  after- 
ward in  the  Masonic  Hall,  which  was  hired  and 
fitted  up  for  the  purpose  by  two  members  of  the 
society.  The  church  was  soon  attached  to  the 
Belleville  circuit.  In  1830  and  the  following  year 
a  plain  wooden  edifice  was  built,  which  has  since 
given  place  to  a  larger  and  more  tasteful  structure 
of  brick  and  stone. 

The  process  of  disintegration  had  now  fairly 
began.  The  rock  which  had  received  no  visible 
fracture  from  the  wear  and  friction  and  civil  agita- 
tions of  a  hundred  years,  was  beginning  to  part. 
Each  fragment,  as  it  fell,  helped  to  dislodge  anoth- 
er. The  spirit  of  religious  enterprise  was  conta- 
gious. The  old  church  was  to  become  the  mother 
of  two  daughters,  to  be  henceforth  nursed  at  her 
side. 

Two  colonies  were  planted  in  the  spring  and 
summer  of  1831.  The  earliest  was  in  March,  when 
a  hundred  and  eighteen  members,  accompanied 
by  the  junior  pastor,  were  dismissed,  to  be  organ- 
ized as  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church.  Among 
them  were  four  elders — Adonijah  Osmun,  John 
Nicol,  Aaron  Peck,  and  Peter  Campbell.  Mr, 
Osmun  had  belonged  to  the  eldership  in  this  church 


DIVISION  OF  FUND.  195 

sixteen  years,  and  at  tlie  end  of  twenty-eiglit  more 
has  not  laid  Lis  office  down.  Mr.  Nicol  bad  been 
an  elder  ten  years,  and  still  remains  with  bis  vener- 
able associate  in  tbe  sister  cbnrcb.  Mr.  Campbell 
has  deceased.  Tbe  organization  was  effected  tbe 
26tb  of  April ;  tbe  pastor  installed  November  15tb. 
During  tbe  same  year  a  bouse  of  worship  was 
built,  which  has  recently  been  improved  and  fur- 
nished with  an  organ.  The  church  has  gone  for- 
ward under  four  ministries  in  a  path  of  steady 
prosperity. 

In  May,  twenty-nine  members  were  dismissed, 
who  on  the  13th  of  June  were  constituted  as  a 
Presbyterian  cbiircb  at  South  Orange.  Elder 
Samuel  Freeman  was  one  of  the  number,  a  grand- 
son of  the  "  Deacon  Samuel  Freeman  "  who  con- 
tributed to  tbe  old  parsonage  in  1748.  He  lived 
only  four  years  to  assist  in  building  up  the  new 
society.  The  first  minister  was  Rev.  Cyrus  Gil- 
dersleeve,  an  uncle  of  the  elder  now  with  us  who 
bears  the  name.  Mr.  Gildersleeve  preached  there 
as  stated  supply  till  the  first  of  May,  1833.  This 
church  gathered  around  it  the  families  belonging 
to  the  southern  part  of  the  parish. 

The  two  new  societies  considering  themselves 
entitled  to  a  share  of  the  fund  belonging  to  this 
parish,  it  was  agreed  that  they  should  "  receive 
and  enjoy  two-sevenths  each  of  the  fund  belonging 
to  the  First  Congregation,  at  the  expiration  of  the 


196  REV.   E.    F.   HATFIELD. 

existing  contract  witli  Dr.  Hillyer."  It  is  not 
known  what  amounts  were  distributed  under  this 
arrangement,  but  they  are  said  to  have  been  incon- 
siderable. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  enter  into  an  explanation  of 
the  particular  causes  which  led  to  these  movements. 
They  were  not  of  a  nature  to  create  any  perma- 
nent barriers  to  a  cordial  fellowship  between  the 
churches  separated.  Dr.  Hillyer  never  ceased  to 
regard  with  a  pastor's  affection  those  who  had  so 
long  been  members  of  his  flock,  nor  to  be  regarded 
by  them  with  a  reverence  almost  filial.  He  looked 
upon  them  all  as  his  children,  and  to  the  end  of 
his  life  had  the  freedom  of  three  pulpits,  in  which 
his  venerable  form  was  always  a  welcome  presence. 

By  Mr.  Pierson's  removal  to  another  charge, 'the 
entire  care  of  the  old  society  again  devolved  upon 
liim.  It  was,  however,  but  for  a  short  period. 
During  the  year  1832,  he  was  assisted  six  months 
by  Kev.  Edwin  F.  Hatfield,  who  was  then  just 
entering  upon  the  ministerial  work,  and  whose 
labors  here  were  attended  with  a  signal  blessing. 
It  was  a  year  long  to  be  remembered  in  the  parish, 
and  indeed  throughout  the  land.*     In  the  general 

*  "  During  July  and  August  tho  cholera  prevailed  in  New 
York,  and  the  town  [Orange]  was  full  of  people.  The  big  church 
also  was  filled  every  Sabbath  with  earnest  hearers."  Mr.  Hatfield 
was  here  from  the  first  of  JIarch  to  September,  "  preaching  four 
times  weekly  in  Ornngo  during  the  whole  time,  and  frequently  in 


DE.  hillyer's  resignation.  197 

awalcening  and  outpouring  of  the  Holj  Spirit,  this 
congregation  was  permitted  largely  to  share,  though 
the  results  were  not  equal  to  those  of  the  revivals 
of  1807  and  1817.  Sixty  and  more  were  added  to 
the  church .  The  thoughts  of  the  people  turned  to 
Mr.  Hatfield  as  a  candidate  for  the  co-pastorate, 
but  he  decided  in  favor  of  a  western  field,  and  was 
soon  after  settled  in  St.  Louis.  His  subsequent 
ministry  has  been  in  the  city  of  New  York,  where 
he  still  labors  with  undiminished  usefulness.  Of 
those  who  were  brought  into  the  kingdom  under 
Dr.  Hatfield's  preaching  here,  a  considerable  num- 
ber remain  with  us,  who  remember  him  with  great 
affection. 

At  the  close  of  this  season  of  special  labor  and 
rejoicing.  Dr.  Hillyer  laid  down  the  responsibilities 
of  a  charge  which  he  had  now  held  for  thirty-one 
years.  He  was  dismissed  on  the  12th  of  February, 
1833,  and  his  successor,  who  had  occupied  the  pul- 
pit from  October,  wns  installed  the  day  following. 
From  that  time  till  his  death,  he  preached  occasion- 
ally on  tlic  Sabbath,  attended  religious  meetings  in 
the  week,  and  devoted  himself  to  visitation.  For 
this  he  had  a  fondness,  to  which  were  attributable 
in  no  small  degree  the  warm  personal  attachments 
he  had  won.  The  writer  is  informed  by  one  of  his 
family  that  he   used  to  employ  five  days  of  the 

the  towns  round  about;  boarding  with  the  pastor."  Letter  from 
Dr.  Hatfield. 


198  OLD   AND  NEW   SCHOOL. 

week  in  pastoral  labors,  reserving  Saturday  for  the 
exclusive  business  of  the  study,  llis  mind  was 
doubtless  occupied  through  the  week  with  the  sub- 
jects upon  which  he  was  to  preach.  The  work  of 
Saturday  was  to  collect  and  arrange  his  thoughts, 
and  to  draw  the  outlines  of  his  discourses,  which 
he  seldom  wrote  out  in  full.  Others  may  question 
whether  he  did  not  exalt  the  pastor  at  the  expense 
of  the  preacher^  whether  he  did  not  magnify  one 
part  of  his  office  to  the  diminishing  of  the  other. 
"We  think  it  can  hardly  have  been  otherwise.  We 
do  not  see  how  such  a  distribution  of  his  labors 
could  have  given  scope  for  the  full  development  of 
his  power  in  the  pulpit.  But  it  was  an  error,  if 
such,  on  the  side  most  easily  excused.  If  criticism 
was  provoked,  it  was  by  the  same  cause  disarmed. 
The  people  loved  him,  and  their  charity  would 
have  covered  more  faults  than  could  ordinarily 
have  been  laid  to  the  account  of  his  public  dis- 
courses. About  seven  hundred  persons  were 
brought  into  the  communion  of  the  church  under 
his  ministry. 

The  division  of  the  General  Assembly  in  1837 
left  Dr.  Ilillyer  on  the  side  of  the  New  School. 
The  event  was  by  him  deplored,  but  it  never 
affected  his  fraternal  relations  with  those  from 
whom  he  was  ecclesiastically  separated.  He  recom- 
mended mutual  forbearance  and  charity,  and  en- 
joyed to  the  end  of  his  life,  which  was  now  near  at 


FRATERNAL   COUNSELS.  199 

hand,  the  unabated  good-will  and  warm  personal 
esteem  of  prominent  men  in  both  divisions  of  the 
church.  Among  his  last  public  efforts  was  a  ser- 
mon preached  before  the  Synod  of  Newark,  from 
the  words  of  Abraham  to  Lot :  "  Let  there  be  no 
strife,  I  pray  thee,  between  me  and  thes,  and  be- 
tween my  herdmen  and  thy  herdmen  ;  for  we  be 
brethren.  Is  not  the  whole  land  before  thee?"  &c. 
(Gen.  13  :  8,  9.)  He  urged  that  there  was  ample 
room  in  our  vast  country  for  the  fullest  activity 
and  expansion  of  both  Assemblies,  and,  holding 
up  the  noble  example  of  the  Hebrew  patriarch, 
"  Let  all,"  said  he,  "  who  have  interest  at  the  throne 
of  grace,  and  all  who  love  the  Redeemer  and  the 
Church  which  he  purchased  with  His  own  blood, 
unite  their  prayers  and  their  influence  for  the  spread 
of  this  benevolent,  this  heavenly  principle.  Be- 
loved brethren,  (he  added,)  permit  me  as  your  elder 
brother,  as  one  who  has  borne  the  heat  and  burden 
of  the  day,  and  whose  departure  is  at  hand,  affec- 
tionately to  press  these  remarks  upon  the  Synod 
now  convened.  We  are  indeed  a  little  band. 
Separated  from  many  whom  we  love,  we  occupy  a 
small  part  of  the  vineyard  of  our  common  Lord. 
But  let  us  not  be  discouraged.  Let  none  of  our 
efforts  to  do  good  be  paralyzed  by  the  circum- 
stances into  which  we  have  been  driven.  Eather 
let  us  with  increased  zeal  and  diligence  cultivate 
the  field  which  we  are  called  to  occupy,  while  we 


200  THE   LAST  COMMtJlSriON. 

are  always  ready  to  cooperate  witli  our  brethren  in 
every  part  of  the  land  in  spreading  the  Gospel  of 
the  grace  of  God,  and  in  saving  a  wretched  world 
from  ruin."  In  these  noble  sentiments  we  hear  an 
echo  of  the  voice  which  spoke  to  the  Synod  of 
1787.  Counsels  wise  and  kind  from  the  Orange 
pulpit  accompanied  the  formation  of  the  General 
Assembly,  Counsels  wise  and  kind  were  heard 
from  the  same  quarter  wdien  the  harmony  of  sixty 
years  was  broken.  The  pen  of  history  may  with 
gratitude  record,  that  the  spirit  by  which  they  were 
dictated  has  not  passed  away,  but  is  more  and  more 
pervading  and  prevalent  throughout  the  Christian 
world. 

In  two  or  three  months  after  his  appearance  be- 
fore the  Synod,  Dr.  Hillyer  was  seized  with  an 
illness  that  was  to  hasten  the  departure  which  he 
felt  to  be  at  hand.  As  the  winter  advanced,  his 
strength  visibly  declined.  It  was  hoped  that  he 
would  rally  with  the  return  of  warm  weather,  but 
the  hope  was  not  realized.  On  the  5th  of  July  he 
stood  up  for  the  last  time  to  address  the  people. 
It  was  at  a  communion,  when  about  thirty  persons 
made  a  profession  of  their  faith,  and  sat  down  to 
commemorate  a  Saviour's  death ;  the  fruit  of  a  re- 
vival in  whose  scenes  his  Avcak  condition  had  not 
allowed  liim  to  have  any  active  participation.  The 
following  Sabbath  his  hands  were  lifted  in  benedic- 
tion over  the  assembly.     This  was  his  last  minis- 


DEATH   OF   DE.   HILLYER.  201 

terial  act.  As  the  end  approached,  he  welcomed 
it ;  retaining  his  consciousness  apparently  till  the 
spirit  took  its  flight.  "  I  am  not  afraid  to  die,  said 
he,  on  recovering  from  a  fainting  fit.  "I  have  not 
the  wonderful  views  of  Payson  in  his  dying  hours, 
nor  have  I  lived  such  a  life.  But  God  is  a  great 
deal  better  to  me  now  than  I  had  any  reason  to 
expect.  I  had  no  expectation  that  one  ho  more 
faithful  than  I  have  been  would  be  favored  with  so 
much  serenity  and  joy  in  the  closing  scene."  The 
doctrines  of  grace  which  he  had  preached  now 
yielded  to  him  their  richest  consolations.  He  ex- 
pired during  the  evening  of  the  28th  of  August, 
1840.  His  funeral  was  attended  by  a  large  con- 
course of  people,  embracing  all  classes.  The  rich 
and  the  poor  met  together.  The  aged  and  the 
young  felt  they  had  lost  a  friend. 

His  funeral  sermon  was  preached  by  Eev.  Dr. 
Fisher,  who  also  composed  the  following  inscrip- 
tion for  the  tablet  seen  on  the  west  side  of  the 
pulpit. 


202  TABLET  INSCRIPTION. 


REV.   ASA   HILLYER,   D.  D., 
Was  born  at  Sheffield,  Massachusetts  : 

April  6th,  1765. 

He  graduated  at  Yale  College,  1786. 

He  was  ordained  and  installed  Pastor 

OF  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Madison, 

New  Jersey,  Sept.  29Tn,  1789. 

On  the  22d  of  July,  1801,  at  his  own  request 

He  was  dismissed  from  that  congregation,  and 

on  the  16th  of  Dec,  1801,  he  was  installed 

Pastor  of  the  1st  Presbyterian  Church  in 

Orange,  New  Jersey.     He  died  Aug.  28th,  1840, 

Aged  77  years  4  months  and  22  days. 

DR.  HILLYER  was  a  pleasant  and  instructive 

companion,  a  devoted  Christian,  sound  in  the 

faith,  a  laborious  and  successful  Pastor, 

who  watched  over  his  flock  with  paternal 

tenderness  and  care,  kind  and  courteous  to  all 

with  whom  he  had  intercourse.     There  was  one 

distinguishing  excellency  in  his  character, 

he  was  emphatically  a  Peace-Maker.     He  was 

A  friend  to  the  cause  of  literature  and  science, 

and  for  many  years  a  Trustee  of  the  College 

of  New  Jersey.     He  was  a  leading  and  efficient 

member  of  most  of  those  benevolent  Societies 

which  have  been  instituted  to  extend  the 

Redeemer's  kingdom  throughout  the  world. 

"  Thy  kingdom  come,"  was  the  sincere  desire  of 

his  heart  as  well  as  the  prayer  of  his  lips. 

The  Memory  of  the  Just  is  blessed. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

REV.     WILLIAM    C.     WHITI}. 

DR.  IIILLYER'S  successor  was  Rev.  William  C. 
White.  He  was  another  son  of  Massachusetts 
— the  mother  of  scholars  and  clergymen  as  well  as 
of  States. 

Mr.  White  was  born  in  Sanclisiield,  Berkshire 
County,  January  16,  1803.  He  was  of  Puritan 
stock,  being  a  lineal  descendant  of  Peregrine  White, 
the  first  child  of  tlie  Pilgrim  exiles,  wko  was  born 
on  the  "  Maj^flower,"  after  her  arrival  in  Plymouth, 
barbor,  in  1620.  His  parents,  of  whom  he  was  the 
second  son,  were  Rev.  Levi  and  Mary  White,  the 
latter  being  the  oldest  daughter  of  Rev.  John  Ser- 
geant, for  many  years  a  missionary  among  the 
Stockbridge  Indians. 

He  entered  Williams  College  soon  after  Dr. 
Griffin  became  President  of  that  institution,  and 
graduated  in  1826,  in  his  twenty-fourth  year,  with, 
one  of  the  highest  honors  of  his  class.  About 
three  years  subsequently,  he  began  a  course  of 
theological  study  at  Princeton.     In  the  autumn  of 


204  SETTLEMENT   IN  ORANGE. 

1830,  lie  was  licensed  to  preach,  by  the  Berkshire 
Association,  but  continued  his  studies  at  the  semi- 
nary another  year.  His  first  preaching  was  at 
East  Machias,  in  the  State  of  Maine,  where  he 
labored  four  months,  with  a  special  blessing  on  his 
labors.  He  was  afterward  engaged  six  months  in 
Tyringham,  Mass.,  leaving  the  latter  place  in  the 
summer  of  1832.  In  October  of  that  year  he  ac- 
cepted an  invitation  to  visit  this  parish.  It  was 
soon  after  Mr.  Hatfield's  temporary  labors  here  had 
closed,  and  while  the  church  was  rejoicing  over  the 
fruits  of  a  precious  revival.  The  result  of  the 
acquaintance  was  the  presentation  of  a  call,  which 
he  decided  upon  accepting,  in  preference  to  one  or 
two  invitations  which  he  is  said  to  have  had  from 
other  fields.  On  the  13th  of  the  following  Febru- 
ary, the  day  after  Dr.  Ilillyer's  dismission,  he  was 
ordained  and  installed  by  the  Presbytery  of  New- 
ark. Dr.  Weeks  preached.  Dr.  Hillyer  gave  the 
charge  to  the  pastor,  and  Dr.  Fisher  to  the  people. 
The  text  of  the  day  was  1  Tim.  iv.  16— "Take 
heed  unto  thyself,  and  unto  the  doctrine ;  continue 
in  them:  for  in  doing  this  tliou  shalt  both  save 
thyself  and  them  that  hear  thee."  It  was  worthy 
to  have  been  the  motto  of  a  ministerial  life  charac- 
teristically studious  and  single-aimed. 

He  was  now  thirty  years  of  age,  and  had  been 
married  a  year  and  a  half.  The  chosen  associate  of 
his   life   and   ministry   wa^  Clarissa,   daughter   of 


YlFAr  OF  THE  PARISET.  205 

Joseph  Dart,  of  Middle  Iladdam,  Conn.,  to  whom 
he  was  united  in  August,  1831,  soon  after  the  com- 
pletion of  his  preparatory  studies. 

Since  the  settlement  of  his  predecessor,  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  parish  had  greatly  changed. 
The  population  was  less  homogeneous.  There  were 
now  denominational  rivalries.  Two  new- Presby- 
terian churches  had  sprung  up,  which  had  taken 
from  this  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  members,  and 
from  the  congregation  a  much  larger  number. 
While  there  remained  a  larger  membership  than 
Mr.  Hillyer  had  found  when  he  entered  the  parish, 
in  1801,  and  the  society  had  a  larger  and  better 
house  of  worship,  the  tendency  of  events  was  less 
favorable.  The  church,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
century,  was  like  a  tree  planted  alone  by  the  rivers 
of  water.  Its  roots  had  struck  deep ;  its  branches 
were  many;  its  life  was  in  full  vigor;  it  was  ma- 
turing its  fruits.  Now  it  had  cast  its  fruits  around 
it,  and  a  number  of  young  and  vigorous  scions 
were  growing  up  at  its  side.  Into  these  not  a  little 
of  its  life  and  strength  had  passed.  Toward  these, 
as  the  newer  growth,  the  religious  zeal  and  enter- 
prise of  the  population  were  powerfully  attracted. 
No  man  could  now  draw  around  himself  the  sup- 
ports of  a  large  and  undivided  Christian  com-. 
munity,  as  Dr.  Hillyer  had  done.  The  old  order 
of  things  was  broken  up,  and  a  new  order  begin- 
ning. Orange  was  in  a  transition  state.  The  field 
10 


206  DIMINISHED  MEMBERSHIP, 

Lad  just  been  mapped  out  anew  by  its  great  Pro- 
prietor, for  the  joint  occupancy  and  generous  com- 
petition of  many  cultivators. 

The  number  of  communicants  reported  in  1831, 
was  596.  The  two  colonies  that  went  out  imme- 
diately after,  reduced  the  number,  the  next  year, 
to  439.  The  statistics  of  the  following  year  were 
not  reported,  but  in  1834,  we  find  a  mysterious 
descent  of  the  fig-ures  to  294.     "What  had  become 

O 

of  the  145  members,  who  thus  disappeared  ?  There 
had  been  no  new  organization  in  that  interval. 
The  diminution  is  ))robably  to  be  accounted  for 
in  two  wa3's  ;  first,  by  a  continued  and  somewhat 
rapid  absorption  into  the  recently  formed  churches; 
and,  secondly,  by  a  purgation  of  the  roll,  which 
churches  of  long  standing  fmd  to  be  occasionally 
necessary.  Members  removing  to  a  distance  are 
not  always  careful  of  their  church  relations.  They 
go  with  no  "  epistles  of  commendation,"  and  suffer 
years  to  roll  by  without  applying  for  any.  At  last, 
many  of  them  being  lost  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
church,  and  having,  by  their  neglect,  no  further 
rights  to  its  communion,  their  names  are  dropped 
from  its  roll.  If  they  are  still  living,  and  their 
location  known,  it  is  sometimes  the  case  that  a  cor- 
respondence is  opened  with  them  for  the  purpose  of 
having  their  relations  transferred,  leading  to  nu- 
merous dismissions  at  about  the  same  time.  This 
has  been  done  by  the  Session   since  the  writer's 


CHURCH  OFFICERS.  207 

connection  with  tlie  church.  To  both  these  causes 
it  is  not  unlikely  tliat  the  diminution  above  alluded 
to  was  owing.  Possibly,  too — a  thing  not  uncom- 
mon with  aged  pastors — some  oversights  were  com- 
mitted by  Dr.  Hillyer  in  the  matter  of  erasing  or 
marking  the  names  of  members  dismissed.  It  is 
evident  that  Mr.  White's  first  report  to  the"  Presby- 
tery, in  1834,  was  based  upon  a  census  taken  of 
the  actual  communicants,  found  by  him  after  his 
settlement. 

The  changes  coincident  with  a  long  pastorate  had 
largely  affected  the  official  record  of  the  church.  The 
Session  of  1801  had  but  a  single  representative  in 
that  of  1883.  Deacon  Baldwin,  from  the  eastern  part 
of  the  parish ;  Deacon  Peck,  from  the  same  neigh- 
borhood ;  Deacon  Perry,  of  the  Mountain  ;  Linus 
Dodd,  from  Doddtown  ;  and  Amos  Harrison,  from 
the  Valley,  had  been  successively  borne  to  the 
churchyard ;  the  last,  only  a  month  before  the  new 
pastor's  introduction  to  the  parish.  Aaron  Munn 
and  John  Lindsley  had  deceased,  and  Henry  Osborn 
was  removed  to  Connecticut  Farms.  Of  the  elders 
of  later  appointment,  Nathaniel  Bruen,  Daniel  P. 
Stryker,  the  second  Joseph  Pierson,  and  Daniel 
Condit,  had  been  removed  by  death ;  four  others 
were  in  the  Second  church  ;  one  in  that  of  South 
Orange.  There  remained,  of  the  more  ancient,  the 
elder  Joseph  Pierson,  now  in  the  forty-second  year 
of  his  office  :    and  Moses   Condit,  in    the   twenty- 


208  TRIALS  OF   FAITH. 

eighth  year.  Both  had  passed  their  three  score 
and  ten.  The  younger  men  were,  Aaron  R.  Har- 
rison, Amos  Vincent,  Abraham  Harrison,  Josiah 
Frost,  Daniel  D.  Condit,  Ira  Canfield  and  Samuel 
L.  Pierson.  With  these,  Abiathar  Harrison  took 
his  seat  on  the  4th  of  March — the  first  meeting  of 
the  Session  after  Mr.  White's  installation — and 
Jonathan  Squier  Williams  a  year  afterward. 

Surrounded  by  these  counsellors  and  helpers,  the 
newly-settled  pastor  addressed  himself  to  his  work. 
There  were  some  circumstances  of  his  position,  be- 
sides those  we  have  noticed,  which  were  not  entirely 
favorable.  He  was  in  the  wake  of  a  great  religious 
excitement,  which  was  to  be  followed,  in  the 
churches  generally,  by  a  long  calm.  The  church 
had  just  reaped  a  harvest ;  a  long  husbandry  would 
be  needed  to  prepare  the  ground  for  another  like  it. 
His  honored  predecessor  was  still  living,  the  object 
of  peculiar  veneration  and  of  long-cherished  attach- 
ments ;  and  for  his  support  provision  was  still  to 
be  made.  When  we  add  to  these  circumstances  the 
recent  loss  of  membership  by  colonization,  the  com- 
petition commenced  by  other  denominations,  and 
the  disposition  of  the  young  people,  especially,  to 
flow  into  the  newer  congregations,  we  can  see  em- 
barrassments and  discouragements  in  the  path  of 
one  whose  heart  had  no  place  for  any  jealous  re- 
grets. 

Mr.  White  was  settled  with  a  salary  of  six  hun- 


NEW   PARSONAGE.  209 

dred  dollars.  The  old  parsonage  still  brought  a 
a  small  rent  to  the  Society,  as  a  tenement  house,  but 
was  of  no  service  to  the  pastor.  After  boarding 
three  months,  he  hired  a  small  new  cottage  in  Main 
street,  on  the  western  slope  of  the  hill,  beyond  what 
is  now  Boyd  street.  The  place  is  at  present  owned 
bj  Mr.  Hooker,  by  whom  the  cottage  has  been  re- 
moved to  Boyd  street.  He  afterward  lived  two 
years  in  Scotland  street,  within  and  near  the  pres- 
ent bend  of  the  railroad  ;  his  rent,  the  second  year, 
being  paid  by  the  parish.  In  1836,  measures  were 
taken  to  provide  another  parsonage.  Abraham 
Harrison  offering  a  lot  "  near  his  residence,  at  two 
dollars  per  foot,  fronting  on  a  new  street  soon  to  be 
opened,"  a  purchase  was  made  of  about  fifty  feet, 
to  which  he  added  an  equal  quantity,  by  way  of  gift. 
The  location  was  in  High  street,  where  Mrs.  White 
now  resides.  A  house  was  built  by  subscription 
and  contract  for  $1,875.  It  was  entered  the  next 
year,  and  was  to  be  the  pastor's  home  till  his  re- 
moval to  the  "  house  not  made  with  hands." 

A  work  of  this  kind,  promoting  the  minister's 
comfort  and  freedom  from  care,  has  an  inspiring 
influence  on  both  him  and  the  people.  Their 
hearts  are  warmed  and  expanded  by  the  deed,  and 
his  by  the  benefit.  God,  too,  is  honored,  and  is  not 
slow  to  open  the  windows  of  His  high  habitation, 
and  to  pour  out  upon  His  people  that  blessing 
which  is  faith's  reward.     If  we  could  doubt  that 


210  FIKST  BAPTIST   CHURCH. 

Mr.  White  now  went  into  his  study  with  a  stronger 
heart ;  that  he  wrote  his  sermons  with  more  spirit, 
and  preached  them  with  more  power;  that  he 
prayed  with  a  quickened  faith  and  more  earnest 
thanksgivings  ;  that  his  people  prayed  and  wrought 
with  him  more  ardently  and  hopefully;  and  that 
God  fulfilled  His  promise  to  those  who  devise  liberal 
things ;  the  doubt  is  removed  by  the  next  year's 
history  of  gathered  fruit.  The  records  of  the  Ses- 
sion, which  tell  of  twenty  persons  admitted  to  sac- 
ramental privileges,  are  but  a  record  of  divine 
faithfulness,  and  of  the  spiritual  economy  of  pro- 
viding comfortably  for  the  spiritual  laborer. 

Another  religious  enterprise  now  sprang  up  on 
the  eastern  border  of  the  town,  and  within  the 
ancient  limits  of  the  parish.  This  was  the  First 
Baptist  Church  of  Orange,  which  was  constituted 
the  14th  of  June,  1887.  Its  first  pastor  was  Eev. 
John  Beetham.  The  position  of  this  church,  be- 
tween Orange  and  Eoseville,  in  a  locality  not  thickly 
settled,  has  not  been  favorable  to  a  rapid  growth. 
Its  light  has,  however,  continued  to  shine,  leading 
many  to  the  knowledge  of  Christ. 

We  may  notice  here  an  act  in  the  legislation  of 
the  State,  which  was  destined  to  affect  the  future 
status  of  the  Orange  Academy.  It  was  the  act 
passed  in  1838,  regulating  the  boundaries  of  school 
districts,  and  the  mode  of  administering  the  com- 
mon schools.     In  the  application  of  the  new  law, 


WEST   BLOOMFIELD   CHUECH.  211 

the  Academy,  falling  within  the  seventh  district  of 
the  township — known  henceforth  as  the  Academy 
district — was  shorn  of  its  long  honors,  and  brought 
down  to  the  level  of  a  common  school.  Its  age,  and 
the  need  felt  of  having  a  better  building  for  academic 
purposes,  were  circumstances  which  had  their  influ- 
ence in  leading  to  this  change.  It  had  maintained 
its  classical  preeminence  more  than  half  a  century. 

At  "West  Bloomfield,  (the  Gmnetoivn  of  our  his- 
tory,) a  Presbyterian  church  was  formed  in  August, 
1838.  This  was  an  outgrowth  from  the  Bloomfield 
Church,  which  had  grown  to  be  one  of  the  largest 
and  most  flourishing  churches  in  the  Presbytery  of 
Newark.  Nearly  as  many  persons  were  dismissed 
from  the  latter  as  had  constituted  its  first  member- 
ship, forty  years  before.  This  new  parish  on  the 
north  was  the  fifth  in  the  circle  now  formed  around 
the  ancient  "  Mountain  Society,"  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian order,  outside  of  the  modern  limits  of  New- 
ark. 

Among  the  items  recorded  at  this  period  by  the 
trustees,  is  the  appointment  of  James  Matthews 
as  sexton,  with  a  salary  of  sixty  dollars  a  year. 
In  January,  1839,  "  William  Condit  and  Smith 
Williams  were  appointed  a  committee  on  the  sing- 
ing in  the  church;"  and,  "inasmuch  as  intimation 
had  been  given  to  the  female  part  of  the  choir 
during  the  past  year  that  some  present  should  be 
made  to  them,  it  was  resolved  that  a  Psalm   and 


2 1 2  LECT  U  KE-KOOM. 

Hymn-book,  witli  the  select  hymns,  should  be  given 
to  each  of  them."  This  book,  compiled  by  Dr. 
Samuel  Worcester,  of  Massachusetts,  and  comprising 
Watts,  with  a  copious  addition  from  other  sources, 
was  to  continue  twenty  years  longer  in  the  hands 
of  the  choir. 

Till  the  year  1839,  the  Society  was  without  a 
lecture-room.  The  Aveekly  meetings  continued  to 
be  held  in  the  old  Academy,  a  place  not  very  con- 
venient either  in  its  dimensions  or  its  furnishings. 
On  Sabbath  evenings  a  third  service  was  held  in 
the  church.  It  was  now  determined  to  build  a 
lecture-room  "  thirty  feet  wide,  forty-five  feet  long, 
and  with  posts  about  twelve  feet  high,  agreeably  to 
the  outlines  of  the  plan  proposed  by  a  committee 
and  adopted  at  a  parish  meeting,  February  25th." 
The  house  was  built  by  subscription,  at  a  cost  of 
$1,000.  The  subscribers  having  been  personally 
consulted  respecting  the  site,  "  an  overwhelming 
majority  Avere  in  favor  of  placing  the  building  on 
Day  street,"  where  it  yet  remains,  with  some  recent 
repairs. 

This  was  a  new  offering  made  to  the  Lord.  It 
was  accepted,  and  made  the  antecedent  of  imother 
display  of  His  favor.  In  the  year  1840,  the  Spirit 
again  came  down.  It  was  the  last  summer  of  Dr. 
Hillycr's  life,  and,  though  he  murmured  not,  it  was 
a  trial  to  him  that  his  wasting  energies  would  not 
suffer  him  to  take  any  public  part  in  the  work. 


GAINS   AND   LOSSES.  213 

His  last  prayers  were  blended  with  it.  His  last 
praises,  before  he  joined  the  seraphim,  were  his 
thanksgivings  over  it.  His  last  public  address,  as 
we  have  before  stated,  was  at  the  sacramental  table, 
at  which  sat,  for  the  first  time,  near  thirty  rejoicing 
believers.  The  scene  was  impressive.  It  was  a 
solemn  farewell — to  the  minister  who  sat  by  his 
side,  to  the  assembly  on  whom  fell  his  tender  bene- 
dictions. But,  it  was  a  glad  farewell.  He  could  say 
to  a  multitude  whom  he  loved,  and  to  many  just 
converted,  "  We  meet  soon  in  heaven." 

During  the  year  1842  the  church  received  an- 
other refreshing.  The  report  of  the  following 
April  shows  an  addition  of  fifty,  persons,  of  whom 
thirty-six  were  admitted  by  profession.  The  loss, 
however,  by  death  and  removal,  appears  to  have 
exceeded  the  gain,  the  aggregate  membership  being 
five  less  than  the  year  previous. 

This  decrease  continued.  In  1850,  there  were 
reported  but  223  members.  The  number  had  now 
fallen  to  the  point  from  which  it  rose  in  1806 — the 
earliest  date  at  which  it  stands  recorded.  From 
that  date  there  had  been  a  regular  ascent,  till  the 
point  of  culmination  was  reached,  in  1827;  then  a 
descent,  for  about  an  equal  period.  It  was  like  the 
rising  and  falling  of  the  ocean  wave;  for  a  time 
carried  up,  and  then  as  inevitably  carried  down, 
by  the  force  and  tendency  of  circumstances. 

There  were  other  circumstances,  however,  which 
10* 


214  SPIRIT   OF   BENEVOLENCE. 

had  continued  to  operate  steadily  in  a  favorable 
direction.  The  spirit  of  religious  benevolence  which 
had  recently  developed  itself  in  so  many  forms,  was 
making  its  frequent  appeals  to  the  churches,  and 
stirring  their  holiest  sympathies.  The  extensive 
revivals  of  1832  had  given  it  a  quickening  impulse. 
Eloquent  and  earnest  men  were  traversing  the 
country  as  agents  of  the  different  societies.  And, 
in  other  fields,  as  well  as  this,  while  the  spiritual 
husbandry  was  less  fruitful  in  conversions,  it  was 
more  fruitful  in  contributions  and  offerings.  God 
was  working  by  a  new  method,  and  upon  a  large 
scale,  to  bring  into  exercise  the  faith^  and  love,  and 
zeiil  of  His  people. 

We  are,  unfortunately,  not  able  to  determine 
with  exactness  the  benevolent  statistics  of  the 
parish,  until  within  a  period  quite  recent.  For 
several  years  preceding  1833,  contributions  had 
been  made  to  a  missionary  society  in  Essex  County, 
auxiliary  to  the  American  Board.  The  suras  con- 
tributed cannot  be  ascertained,,  nor  those  given  to 
other  objects  in  which  Dr.  Hilly er  is  known  to  have 
been  actively  interested.  Our  researches  in  this 
direction,  for  the  period  following  Mr.  White's  set- 
tlement, have  been  more  satisfactory,  though  their 
results  cannot  be  relied  upon  for  perfect  accuracy 
during  his  ministry.  The  statistical  tables  appended 
to  this  work  will  exhibit  those  results,  and  the 
reader  will  find  thcni  indicative  of  a  considerable 


REVIVAL   OF    1850.  215 

enlargement  of  action  in  the  line  of  religious  benef- 
icence. There  was  fin  opening  of  heart,  and  an 
expansion  of  charity,  while  the  church  was  dimin- 
ished in  numbers. 

The  year  1850  was  another  year  of  blessing. 
Signs  of  awakening  appeared  early  in  the  winter. 
The  Avork  affected,  especially,  the  younger  part  of 
the  congregation,  and  went  forward  chiefly  under 
the  ordinary  appliances  of  the  Word.  Among 
those  who  rendered  some  occasional  assistance,  was 
Rev.  Charles  Bentley,  a  clergyman  of  New  England. 
In  the  course  of  the  year,  thirty-four  persons  were 
received  into  fellowship  as  the  fruit  of  the  revival. 

Another  cause  was  now  operating  visibly  upon 
the  character  and  growth  of  the  congregation.  By 
the  construction  of  the  Morris  and  Essex  Railroad, 
the  village  had  many  years  been  placed  in  close  re- 
lations with  Newark  and  New  York.  It  had  not, 
however,  attracted  hitherto  the  attention  which  it 
since  has,  from  families  seeking  rural  homes  in  the 
neighborhood  of  those  cities.  A  long-existing  prej- 
udice against  New  Jersey  had  kept  from  multi- 
tudes in  the  over-crowded  metropolis  a  knowledge 
of  the  inviting  features  of  this  region.  This  igno- 
rance could  not  long  continue  after  the  opening  of 
railway  communication  that  converted  Orange  into 
a  suburb  of  Newark,  and  that  made  it  one  of  the 
most  accessible,  as  it  is  one  of  the  most  attractive, 
of  the  rural  villages  that  environ  New  York.     The 


21(i  A   NEW   ERA. 

sharp  eye  of  enterprise,  the  anxious  eye  of  the  in- 
valid seeking  health,  the  eye  of  the  retiring  mer- 
chant and  man  of  taste,  began,  ere  long,  to  be 
turned  in  this  direction.  At  no  place,  within  the 
same  distance,  was  there  a  happier  combination  of 
the  characteristics  of  scenery  and  climate,  desirable 
in  a  country  home. 

The  tide  once  beginning  to  flow,  was  certain  to 
continue,  and  to  rise.  It  began  with  the  comple- 
tion and  successful  working  of  the  railroad.  The 
first  immigrants  were  the  means  of  bringing  others. 
The  old  farms  around  the  village,  much  as  they 
loved  their  ancient  boundaries,  and  shrank  from  the 
dissecting  knife,  began  to  lose  their  integrity.  The 
surveyor's  line  was  stretched  upon  them.  Streets 
were  run  across  them.  The  field  became  a  lawn, 
in  the  midst  of  which  rose  the  merchant's  mansion. 
The  tapering  knoll  was  crowned  with  stately  ar- 
chitecture, and  covered  with  shrubbery  and  blos- 
soms. 

During  the  latter  years  of  Mr.  White's  ministry, 
the  effects  of  this  immigration  were  appearing  in 
all  the  religious  societies  of  the  place.  New  ele- 
ments were  commingling  with  the  old,  producing,  as 
a  matter  of  course,  some  friction,  some  effervescence. 
But  the  time  had  come.  Innovation  and  trans- 
formation were  inevitable.  And  many  who  de- 
plored the  social  changes  wliicli  their  tempting- 
grounds  and  their  I'ailway  stock  had  contributed  to 


REPAIRS  AND   ALTERATIONS.  217 

bring  about,  found  a  large  pecuniary  solace  for  their 
dissatisfaction. 

"With  these  changes  came  another  in  1851,  having 
reference  to  the  interior  arrangements  of  the  sanc- 
tuary. The  pulpit,  at  the  south  end,  and  the  gallery 
opposite,  were  made  to  change  places.  The  front 
of  the  galleries  was  lowered,  and  the  entire  house 
reseated, — the  seats  introduced,  together  with  the 
pulpit,  being  transferred  from  the  Duane  Street 
Presbyterian  Church,  in  the  city  of  New  York. 
The  walls  were  papered  ;  furnaces  were  placed 
under  the  house ;  and  an  organ  was  purchased. 
These  improvements,  exclusive  of  the  last  item, 
were  made  at  an  expense  of  $5,845.  The  organ, 
made  by  Henry  Pilcher,  of  Newark,  had  been  in 
use,  and  was  purchased  for  $800.  By  these  new 
furnishings  the  house  was  improved  in  appearance, 
the  comfort  of  the  congregation  was  promoted,  and 
an  impressive  auxiliary  supplied  to  one  part  of 
public  devotion.  While  they  were  not  universally 
approved,  there  was  a  general  concurrence  in  them 
on  the  part  of  the  pew-holders. 

The  parish  now  provided  for  its  current  expen- 
ditures by  annuities  received  from  the  pews.  The 
method,  which  has  not  been  changed,  is  the  follow- 
ing: An  estimate  of  the  fiscal  wants  of  the  ensuing 
year  is  made  by  the  treasurer,  and  submitted  at 
each  parish  meeting.  Upon  this,  as  a  basis,  the 
appropriations  of  the  year  arc  voted.     The  annui- 


218  '  GEACE   CHURCH. 

ties  are  then  graduated  to  the  amount  required. 
Eacli  pew  has  a  valuation,  at  which  it  may  be  pur- 
chased or  rented.  If  purchased,  the  assessment  is 
simply  on  its  estimated  value.  If  rented,  it  is  seven 
per  cent,  higher.  The  rule  is  simple  and  reason- 
able, and  its  working,  in  this  congregation,  has  been 
highly  satisfactory. 

The  year  1854  witnessed  the  beginning  of  a  new 
religious  enterprise,  by  members  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church.  The  movement  was  entered 
upon  in  connection  with  the  labors  of  Rev.  Joshua 
D.  Berry,  D.  D.,  who  became  rector  of  the  new 
organization.  The  church  was  formed  in  March, 
and  Dr.  Berry  left  the  charge  in  the  following 
January.  In  July,  1855,  it  was  assumed  by  Rev. 
James  S.  Bush,  the  present  rector.  On  the  12th  of 
August,  the  next  year,  the  corner-stone  of  a  house 
of  worship  was  laid,  which  was  consecrated  in  July, 
1858.  This  edifice  (Grrace  Church)  stands  on  the 
old  parsonage  lot  described  in  our  narrative.  It  is 
a  few  rods  east  of  the  site  of  the  old  parsonage 
house,  which,  after  having  long  ceased  to  be  used 
by  the  parish,  and  having  passed  from  its  owner- 
ship, was  finally  demolished  in  1854.  It  had  been 
standing  a  hundred  and  five  years. 

Sacred  as  wei'e  the  associations  which  once  had 
clustered  round  this  ancient  domicil,  they  had  all 
been  separated  from  it,  or  nearly  so,  by  its  later 
uses,  and  nobody  thought  of  expending  upon  it  a 


END   OF  THE    OLD    PARSONAGE.  219 

sigh  or  a  sorro-w  when  its  destruction  took  place. 
One,  however,  who  was  yet  but  a  stranger  in 
Orange,  obtaining  some  knowledge  of  its  history, 
and  thinking  it  a  pity  that  a  house  of  such  an- 
tiquity should  pass  away  with  no  attempt  to  j)re- 
serve  its  time-worn  features,  engaged  an  artist  of 
Newark  to  daguerreotype  it.  This  was  Edward 
Gardner,  editor  of  the  Orange  Journal,  to  whose 
seasonable  forethought  our  readers  are  indebted  for 
the  accompanying  view. 

The  destruction  of  the  edifice  was  not  the  de- 
struction of  its  material,  and  it  may  interest  the 
present  townsman  of  Orange,  as  he  steps  into  the 
Willow  Hall  Market,  or  walks  over  the  almost 
unnoticed  bridge  in  front  of  it  that  separates  his 
feet  from  the  waters  of  Parow's  Brook,  to  know  his 
personal  proximity  to  some  of  the  enduring  relics 
of  the  Old  Parsonage.  As  a  "beam  out  of  the 
timber  "  of  the  First  Meeting-House  still  remains 
to  tell  something  of  its  substance  and  form,  so 
more  than  one  "stone  out  of  the  wall''  of  the 
second  minister's  home  still  endures,  a  not  unfit- 
ting symbol  of  joys  and  affections  which,  like  itself, 
have  passed  into  other  relations  without  ceasing  to 
exist.  The  building  having  been  purchased  for 
removal  by  Albert  Pierson,  its  "  precious  stones  " 
(which,  like  the  piety  they  once  enshrined,  were 
none  "the  worse  for  wear")  were  set  anew,  some 
ill  iiiinrovemcnts  about  his  own  dwelling,  some  in 


220  MR.  white's  resignation, 

the  foundations  of  Willow  Hall,  and  some  in  the 
bridge  over  the  stream  hard  by ;  while  others  have 
found  a  still  sacred  use  in  the  new  Cemetery,  where 
there  are  "  sermons  in  stones  "  if  anywhere.  It  is 
likely  they  will  long  remain  there,  associated  hence- 
forth with  the  solemn  eloquence  of  the  dead. 

While  this  antique  home  was  undergoing  disso- 
lution, another  tabernacle,  for  whose  preservation 
many  prayers  were  offered,  was  beginning  to  give 
signs  of  premature  debility.  Mr.  White's  health 
was  evidently  failing  for  two  or  three  years  before 
he  resigned  his  charge.  He  was  troubled  with 
vertigo  and  other  symptoms  of  bilious  derange- 
ment. His  physical  energies  declined.  It  was 
manifest  to  his  friends  that  his  strength  was  becom- 
ing unequal  to  the  labors  and  cares  which  increased 
upon  him.  Yet  he  struggled  to  sustain  them  till 
the  spring  of  1855,  when  he  yielded  to  what  he 
now  felt  to  be  a  necessity,  and  asked  the  church  to 
unite  with  him  in  a  request  for  his  dismission.  On 
the  18th  of  April  this  request  was  laid  before  the 
Presbytery,  and  the  pastoral  relation  dissolved. 
His  ministry  had  extended  through  twenty-two 
years. 

Release  from  labor  brought  no  improvement  of 
health.  He  still  declined,  but  was  able  to  keep  up 
some  intercourse  with  the  people.  A  pi-esentiment 
that  he  had  not  long  to  live  seemed  to  inspire  him 
with  an  unusual  tenderness  of  feeling.      It  was 


HIS   SUCCESSOK.  221 

noticed  in  his  family  bow  subdued,  patient,  trust- 
ful and  thankful  was  the  spirit  manifested  in  his 
conversation  and  prayers.  With  the  trial  of  faith 
came  the  sufficient  grace.  There  was  no  complain- 
ing, but  a  higher  reach  after  the  joys  of  the  Com- 
forter, He  spoke  often  of  the  great  goodness  of 
God.  His  graces  were  fast  ripening  under  the 
beams  of  that  love  which  makes  the  showers  of 
affliction  productive  of  heavenly  fruits. 

The  pulpit  was  supplied  during  the  summer  and 
autumn,  about  live  months,  by  Eev.  Silas  Billings, 
then  residing  in  Brooklyn.  His  preaching  was 
highly  acceptable,  and  he  would  have  stood  favor- 
ably before  the  congregation  as  a  candidate  for  the 
charge,  but  for  a  bodily  infirmity  which  made  him 
undesirous  of  a  settlement.  In  January,  1856,  the 
writer  was  invited  to  the  pulpit.  Having  occupied 
it  two  Sabbaths,  he  received  an  expression  of  the 
united  desires  of  the  parish  that  he  should  settle 
among  them  permanently  in  the  gospel  work.  The 
committee  through  whom  this  expression  was  con- 
veyed, were  instructed  to  urge  his  acceptance  of 
the  call,  and  as  early  an  entrance  upon  the  duties 
of  the  pastorate  as  his  circumstances  would  permit. 
He  was  accordingly  settled  without  much  delay,  on 
the  14th  of  February. 

About  the  beginning  of  that  month  Mr.  White 
left  his  house  for  the  last  time.  He  was  taken  in  a 
carriage  to  see  his  friend.  Judge  Stephen  D.  Day, 


222  MR.  white's  death. 

who  was  lying  very  ill  and  near  his  end.  The 
interview  was  to  both  an  affecting  one.  It  was 
closed  with  prayer.  They  parted,  but  for  a  speedy 
reunion.  Mr.  White  rode  home.  For  several  days 
he  continued  feeble,  yet  without  any  symptoms 
specially  alarming.  On  the  evening  of  the  7th, 
at  about  nine  o'clock,  he  complained  of  an  unusual 
illness  and  lay  down.  A  cup  of  cocoa  was  soon 
brought  him.  He  drank  a  little,  and  fell  back 
upon  his  pillow.  His  wife  spoke  to  him,  but  he 
made  no  reply  except  by  signs,  laying  his  hand  on 
his  head.  In  a  few  minutes  he  expired.  His  age 
was  fifty-three,  but  he  had  the  appearance  of  being- 
much  older.     The  writer  had  seen  hini  but  once. 

This  sad  and  sudden  event  made  a  deep  impres- 
sion on  the  community.  It  took  place  on  Thurs- 
day evening.  His  funeral  the  next  Sabbath  drew 
to  the  church  an  immense  concourse  of  people. 
The  clergy  of  other  denominations  were  present, 
with  whom  he  had  ever  cultivated  the  most  friendly 
relations.  Several  of  the  neighboring  ministers  of 
his  own  order  also  attended,  and  took  part  in  the 
funeral  service.  A  sermon,  from  Eev.  14  :  13, 
was  preached  by  Eev.  John  Crowell,  of  the  Second 
Church.  From  the  front  of  that  pulpit  in  which 
he  had  often  stood,  and  around  which  and  upon 
the  galleries  hung  the  drapery  of  grief,  the  good 
man  and  faithful  pastor  was  borne  to  his  rest  in  the 
cemetery. 


MINUTE   OF   THE   SESSION".  223 

It  was  a  happy  circumstance  to  his  family,  and 
but  an  act  of  justice  to  him,  that  the  parish  had 
voted  to  present  to  him  the  house  and  lot  which  he 
had  occupied,  together  with  a  donation  in  money 
of  one  thousand  dollars.  His  children  were  three 
sons  and  a  daughter,  the  last  being  at  the  time  of 
his  death  about  two  years  old.  Mrs.  White  is  still 
with  us,  with  her  fatherless  charge. 

The  Session  of  the  church  placed  upon  their 
records  the  following  minute  : 

"  It  having  pleased  God  to  remove  suddenly 
from  this  life,  on  the  7th  inst.,  the  Eev.  William  C. 
White,  late  pastor  of  this  church,  the  Session 
unanimously  resolve — 

"  1.  That  they  record  the  event  with  feelings  of 
submission  to  the  Divine  will,  and  of  gratitude  for 
the  many  blessings  conferred  upon  us  by  the  great 
Head  of  the  Church  in  the  useful  ministry  of  his 
servant. 

"2.  That  they  cherish  with  much  esteem  and 
affection  the  memory  of  their  late  pastor,  who 
during  twenty-two  years,  and  under  increasing 
bodily  infirmities  in  the  later  period  of  his  minis- 
try, devoted  himself  with  great  assiduity  and  faith- 
fulness to  the  varied  and  arduous  labors  of  his 
station.  With  a  well-disciplined .  mind,  studious 
habits,  clear  views  of  divine  truth,  and  a  manifest 
and  tender  love  for  souls,  he  prosecuted  his  work 
with  many  evidences  of  the  divine  favor,  till  com- 


224  HIS  CHARACTER. 

pelled  to  desist  by  the  necessities  of  failing  health 
and  vigor. 

"  3.  That  they  tender  to  his  bereaved  family 
their  Christian  sympathies  in  this  sudden  and  deep 
affliction." 

The  Presbytery  in  April  adopted  a  minute  of 
similar  purport,  drawn  up  by  Eev.  Joseph  S.  Galla- 
gher, for  some  years  pastor  of  the  Second  church. 
With  his  brethren  in  the  Presbytery  Mr.  White's 
relations  had  always  been  amicable  and  cordial. 
And  with  them,  as  with  others,  his  accurate  judg- 
ment and  unof&cious  worth  gave  him  an  influence 
not  always  connected  with  the  gifts  that  make  a 
brilliant  and  popular  oratory. 

He  was  a  man  of  medium  height,  rather  strongly 
built ;  kind  and  affectionate  in  his  family ;  modest 
and  unseeking  in  his  more  public  relations.  The 
number  of  persons  added  to  the  Church  during  his 
ministry  was  somewhat  over  three  hundred. 

The  following  is  the  inscription  of  a  tablet  re- 
cently erected  to  his  memory,  and  placed  at  the 
east  of  the  pulpit.  It  was  written  by  Eev.  F.  A. 
Adams,  formerly  Principal  of  the  Orange  Acade- 
my. 


TABLET   INSCRIPTION.                         225 



REV.  WILLIAM  C.  WHITE, 

BORN 

In  Sandisfield,  Mass.,  Jan.  16,  1803 ; 

GrRADUATED 

At  Williams  College  in  1826, 

At  Princeton  Theological  Seminary  in  1831 ; 

Ordained  and  installed 

Over  the  First  Church  in  Orange,  Feb.  13,  "1833. 

In  the  labors  of  this  charge  he  spent  his  entire  strength.  His 
love  for  the  work  drew  into  it  all  the  poicers  of  his  minclj  and 
the  resources  of  his  growing  cidture.  A  rare  native  sagacity 
Joined  withhabitual  study  gave  symmetry  and  strength  to  his 
discourses.  Clothed  with  humility,  he  found  his  chief  joy  in 
the  duties  of  Teacher,  Pastor,  Counsellor  and  Friend  to  his 
people.  Beyond  this  sphere  he  sougtit  neither  influence  nor 
place  ;  within  it,  no  rest  nor  relaxation. 

On  account  of  failing  health  he  was 

released  from  his  charge  April  18,  1855 ; 

Died  February  7,  1856. 


CHAPTEE  VIII. 
FROM    1856    TO    1860. 

THE  five  pastorates  through,  whicli  we  have 
followed  the  line  of  this  history,  illustrate  the 
practicabilitj  of  what  we  believe  to  have  been  a 
primitive  idea  of  the  pastoral  relation,  namely,  'per- 
manency. The  first  continued  at  least  twenty -five 
years.  The  second  was  closed  by  death  at  the  end 
of  fourteen  years.  The  third  was  prolonged  to 
thirty-four  years.  Tlie  fourth  to  thirtj^-one.  The 
fifth  to  twenty-two.  This  makes  an  average  length 
of  a  quarter  of  a  century.  With  respect  to  the 
utility  and  expediency  of  such  a  continuity  of 
ministerial  labor  in  the  same  congregation,  opinions 
differ.  Many  advantages  are  gained  by  it.  A 
minister  long  settled  is  like  a  tree  long  planted  and 
left  undisturbed  ;  he  has  had  time  to  grow,  and  to 
take  root  in  the  hearts  of  his  people.  lie  is  under 
the  necessity  of  continuous  study.  He  acquires  a 
large  local  influence.  He  is  more  identified  with 
the  people,  and  is  more  secure  against  personal  reac- 


THE   AVRITER's   SETTLEMENT.  227 

tioiis  in  the  faithful  discharge  of  his  duties.  Wheth- 
er tbe  disadvantages  are  equal,  or  gTeater,  we  shall 
not  here  discuss.  The  theory  is  one  which  enters 
into  the  constitution  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
though  not  now  as  closely  followed  as  it  once  was. 

It  was  our  intention  to  drop  the  pen  with  the 
office  which  it  has  now  performed.  The  ,task  is 
discharged  for  which  it  was  chiefly  taken ;  that 
of  exploring  a  past  believed  to  contain  enough  of 
memorable  names  and  deeds  to  deserve  such  a 
labor.  But  the  four  yeai-s  which  have  now  nearly 
gone  since  the  closing  event  of  the  last  chapter, 
have  too  powerfully  impressed  their  changes  on  the 
social  and  religious  aspects  of  the  town,  to  be  left 
without  some  notice.  Human  enterprise  has  in 
that  period  accomplished  much,  and  God  has  done 
still  more.  We  shall  therefore  follow  the  thread  of 
events  a  little  farther,  and  notice  briefly  such  exist- 
ing features  of  our  town  as  will  be  likely  to  interest 
the  readers  of  another  generation. 

It  has  been  stated  that  the  writer  became  pastor 
of  the  First  Church,  February  14,  1856.  It  was 
j  ust  a  week  after  the  death  of  his  predecessor,  and 
but  four  days  after  the  gathering  of  the  mournful 
assembly  for  the  burial  service.  The  happier  emo- 
tions excited  by  the  occasion  were  not  a  little  soft- 
ened by  the  sadder  ones  which  had  so  recently 
prevailed.  To  add  to  the  solemnities  which  death 
threw    around   the    evmit,    the    demise    of    Judge 


228  CHITRCH   OFFICERS. 

Stephen  D.  Day  took  place  simultaneously  with  it, 
at  the  distance  only  of  the  street's  width.  He  had 
been  an  influential  and  highly  respected  member  of 
the  church  and  the  community. 

The  following  clergymen  took  part  in  the  instal- 
lation service.  Kev.  John  Crowell,  of  the  Second 
church,  Orange,  presided  and  put  the  constitutional 
questions.  Eev.  James  M.  Sherwood,  of  Bloom- 
field,  preached  a  sermon  from  Matt.  13  :  33.  Eev. 
Daniel  W.  Poor  and  Kev.  James  P.  Wilson,  D,  D., 
of  Newark,  delivered  the  respective  charges  to  the 
pastor  and  the  people.  Rev.  Eobert  W.  Landis,  of 
Paterson,  who  was  moderator  of  the  Presbytery, 
offered  prayer. 

The  elders  of  the  church  at  this  time  were  Josiah 
Frost,  Ira  Canfield,  Jonathan  S.  Williams,  Smith 
Williams,  Cyrus  Gildersleeve,  and  Charles  E.  Day. 
The  deacons  were  Josiah  Frost  and  Moses  B.  Can- 
field.  By  reason  of  his  age  and  infirmities,  espe- 
cially hardness  of  hearing,  Mr.  Frost  had  ceased  to 
take  any  active  part  in  the  affairs  of  the  parish. 
Of  his  earlier  contemporaries  in  of&ce,  Amos  Vin- 
cent, (who  resigned  office  in  1840,)  Abraham  Har- 
rison, and  Daniel  D.  Condit,  had  deceased.  Samuel 
L.  Pierson  and  Abiathar  Harrison  had  left  the  place. 
Deacon  Abraham  Harrison  had  been  a  man  of  dis- 
tinguished usefulness  in  the  church,  having  in  early 
life  studied  for  the  ministry  and  received  license  to 
preach. 


VIEW  OF  THE   PARISH.  229 

To  tlie  elders  just  named  there  were  added  in 
the  following  May,  James  Greacen,  John  Bojnton, 
Ira  Harrison  and  Dr.  Stephen  Wickes ;  of  whom 
the  first  two  had.  held  the  same  of&ce  in  Brooklyn, 
the  last  in  Troy,  N.  Y.  Erastus  A,  Graves  and 
Cyrus  S.  Minor  were  at  the  same  time  added  to  the 
number  of  deacons.  The  two  offices,  which  had 
so  long  been  held  together,  were  now  separated, 
except  in  the  person  of  the  senior  officer,  Mr.  Frost. 

The  church  had  a  membership  of  about  two 
hundred  and  fifty,  including  those  who  had  re- 
moved from  the  parish  without  a  change  of  their 
church  relations.  The  attendance  upon  the  Sab- 
bath services  was  from  five  to  six  hundred.  About 
a  hundred  and  seventy-five  families  were  comprised 
in  the  parish,  tliough  not  all  of  them  regular  at- 
tendants upon  public  worship.  Of  those  who  held 
seats  in  the  sanctuary,  a  few  were  members  of 
another  denomination,  or  by  habit  and  preference 
connected  with  it,  who  were  waiting  for  a  church 
of  their  own  order  to  be  organized  in  this  part  of 
the  town.  There  was  a  prosperous  Sabbath-school, 
with  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  pupils,  under  the 
superintendence  of  Mr.  Charles  M.  Saxton.  The 
course  of  religious  services  comprised  a  morning 
and  afternoon  preaching  service  on  the  Lord's  day, 
one  session  of  the  Sabbath-school,  a  Sunday  even- 
ing prayer-meeting,  a  Tuesday  evening  lecture,  and 
a  prayer-meeting  sustained  by  Sunday-school  teach- 
11 


230  VALLEY   MIBSIOX   SCHOOL. 

ers  and  others,  wliicli  was  held  on  Friday  evening 
at  private  residences.  The  last  has  been  since 
transferred  to  tljc  lecture-room,  and  made  a  congre- 
gational service.  At  various  outposts  of  the  parish, 
the  pastor  had  regular  preaching  appointments. 

There  was  also  a  missionary  Sabbath-school  in 
the  neighborhood  now  known  as  Orange  Valley, 
between  North  and  South  Orange.  This  was 
originated  in  1854  by  Mr.  James  Greacen,  then  a 
new  resident  of  the  town.  Having  located  his 
home  in  that  vicinitj^,  his  heart  was  moved  to 
undertake  the  work,  and  he  devoted  himself  to  it 
with  untiring  zeal  to  the  end  of  his  life.  The 
school  was  assembled  in  the  afternoon  of  the  Sab- 
bath, after  the  second  service  at  the  church.  It 
was  gradually  strengthened  by  the  confidence  which 
its  success  inspired.  Teachers  came  in  because 
they  were  needed,  and  these  again  drew  in  more 
children.  Mr.  Greacen,  also,  for  a  year  and  a  half, 
kept  up  at  the  same  place  a  Sunday  evening  relig- 
ious service,  which  was  sometimes  conducted  by 
himself  alone,  and  which  seldom  failed  to  draw 
together  as  many  people  as  could  be  comfortably 
seated  in  the  school- room.  This  he  at  last,  with 
much  reluctance,  discontinued,  from  a  conviction 
that  his  engagements  and  labors  were  too  much  for 
his  strength. 

The  writer,  during  the  autumn  that  followed  liis 


NORTH  ORANGE  BAPTIST  CHURCH.  231 

settlement,  had  a  visitation  of  sickness  wliicli  inter- 
rupted his  work  a  little  more  than  two  months. 
It  was  a  very  sudden  and  violent  attack  of  bilious 
fever,  supposed  to  have  been  the  result  of  a  condi- 
tion of  health  which  he  brought  with  him  to  the 
parish.  He  had  the  year  before  been  travelling  in 
the  West,  where  he  contracted  the  ague  and  fever, 
from  the  effects  of  Avhich  he  had  not  entirely  re- 
covered. The  present  illness  seized  him  in  the 
pulpit,  in  the  midst  of  a  sermon,  compelling  a  sus- 
pension of  the  service.  It  was  the  most  critical 
sickness  of  his  life.  Though  brought  near  the 
grave,  he  was  by  the  goodness  of  God  permitted  to 
return  to  his  labors,  and  to  enjoy  more  vigorous 
health  than  before. 

We  have  already  noticed  the  formation  of  a 
Baptist  church  at  East  Orange.  Its  distance  from 
the  families  residing  nearer  the  mountain  led  to  a 
new  movement  by  that  denomination  in  1857. 
The  North  Orange  Baptist  Church  was  constituted 
November  4th,  with  twenty-seven  members,  and 
on  the  following  day  was  publicly  recognized  by  a 
Council,  who  at  the  same  time  ordained  to  the  min- 
istry Mr.  Jerome  B.  Morse,  the  pastor  elect.  The 
moment  was  auspicious  for  such  an  enterprise.  A 
powerful  revival  was  just  beginning  in  the  place. 
The  church  shared  the  copious  baptism,  and  now 
numbers  above  one  hundred  communicants.  It 
worships  in  Waverly  Hall. 


232  DEATH   OF   MK.  GREACEN. 

While  the  Council  was  convened  for  the  ordina- 
tion service  j  ust  mentioned,  a  devoted  elder  of  this 
church  was  removed  by  death.  It  was  the  founder 
of  the  mission  Sabbath-school  —  a  mau  of  pure 
mind  and  earnest  purpose,  a  Christian  whose  aim 
was  single,  a  church  officer  able  and  faithful.  He 
threw  into  the  cause  of  his  Eedeemer  all  the  ener- 
gies of  his  mind  and  body.  On  a  Sabbath  during 
his  sickness,  feeling  unable  to  meet  his  Sunday- 
school,  he  sat  up  and  wrote  to  the  children  a  short 
letter.  The  sun  shone  in  brightly  at  his  window, 
and  his  feelings  caught  a  sympathetic  glow.  He 
wrote  of  the  beautiful  sunlight,  and  of  the  brighter 
light  that  filled  his  soul  from  the  Sun  of  Eighteous- 
ness.  Heaven  was  coming  near.  In  a  few  days 
his  body  was  laid  in  the  vault  of  the  cemetery,  to 
which  it  was  followed  by  a  long  procession.  He 
died  at  the  age  of  forty-two.  The  oldest  child  and 
only  daughter  of  the  pastor  was  laid  beside  him 
six  weeks  afterward,  in  her  tenth  year. 

God  was  smiting  the  shepherd  and  taking  the 
sheep.  But  He  smote  with  the  rod  of  His  faithful- 
ness. 

These  events  were  in  the  midst  of  a  financial 
crisis  which  was  spreading  anxiety  and  gloom  over 
the  whole  country.  But  a  new  and  marvellous 
religious  movement  was  also  beginning.  The  im- 
certainties  on  which  even  colossal  fortunes  were 
seen  to  stand,  were  leading  men,  and   especially 


REVIVAL  OF  1858.  233 

Christian  men,  to  think  more  of  the  true  riches. 
There  was  everywhere  a  quickening  of  the  relig- 
ious life.     The  churches  of  Orange  felt  it. 

The  first  manifestations  of  the  revival  were  in 
the  Second  congregation,  and  in  that  its  greatest 
power  was  witnessed.  In  the  First  church,  the 
death  of  Elder  Greacen,  followed  by  a  death  in  the 
pastor's  family,  made  a  visible  impression.  The 
week  before  the  latter  occurred,  the'  annual  visita- 
tion of  the  church  by  a  deputation  of  the  Presby- 
tery took  place.  The  visitors  were  Rev.  Robert 
Aikman,  of  Elizabeth,  and  Rev.  Dr.  Rowland,  of 
the  Park  church,  Newark.  A  good  attendance 
was  secured,  and  the  religious  feeling  was  percepti- 
bly deepened.  In  January,  a  daily  morning  prayer- 
meeting  was  commenced,  which  was  held  in  the 
lecture-room.  This  was  continued  till  June.  It 
was  a  five-month  series  of  ^those  happy  scenes 

" where  spirits  blend, 

"Where  friend  holds  fellowship  with  friend." 

Christians  came  together  "  with  one  accord."  AU 
classes  were  represented.  The  New  York  mer- 
chant was  present,  to  leave  a  prayer  and  a  blessing 
behind,  ere  he  stepped  upon  the  train.  The  Orange 
merchant,  lawyer,  physician,  tradesman  and  farmer 
were  there,  with  wives  and  daughters,  agreed  as 
touching  the  things  they  came  to  ask.  A  similar 
meeting,  which  was  earlier  established,  and  which 


234  DAILY   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

continued  more  than  a  year,  was  lield  every  morn- 
ing in  the  lecture-room  of  the  Second  church. 
The  other  denominations  had  also  their  special 
services  ;  while  in  March,  a  union  noonday  prayer- 
meeting  was  instituted  at  Willow  Hall,  which  was 
kept  up  two  months  or  more,  and  in  all  the  meet- 
ings there  were  frequent  and  pleasant  interchanges 
by  members  of  the  different  churches.  Pastors 
and  private  Christians  were  mutually  stimulated  to 
zeal  and  love  by  this  intercourse.  And  He  who 
gives  and  rewards  each  grace,  made  their  zeal  and 
love,  their  prayers  and  appeals,  mighty  in  the  sal- 
vation of  others. 

The  distinguishing  features  of  this  revival  were 
the  same  here  as  elsewhere.  It  exhibited,  in  a  pe- 
culiar manner,  the  signs  of  a  divine  work.  In  no 
previous  awakening  were  human  agencies  less  con- 
spicuous, and  the  immediate  power  of  God  more 
manifest.  The  Holy  Spirit  came  not  down,  indeed, 
in  tongues  of  fire.  His  influences  were  rather  like 
those  of  the  sun,  invisible,  diffusive,  still,  yet  work- 
ing in  the  deepest  life  of  the  church. 

These  influences  were  remarkably  connected  with 
prayer  as  a  means.  There  was  a  general  and  extra- 
ordinary spirit  of  prayerfulness  among  Christians 
of  the  different  denominations.  A  new  and  mys- 
terious attraction  drew  people  to  the  prayer-meet- 
ings. Those  who  never  before  attended  were  now 
seen,  and  those  who  came  but  seldom  were  now 


DISCOVERED   GIFTS.  235 

regular  attendants.  Men  who  liad  never  prayed 
in  public  would  rise  and  offer  prayer  with  great 
readiness  and  fervor.  And  even  while  they  were 
calling  upon  God,  were  answers  given  in  the  con- 
version of  souls. 

With  this  increase  of  prayerfulness  there  was  a 
wonderful  increase  of  zeal  and  activity  among 
private  Christians.  This  was  throughout  the  coun- 
try a  prominent  characteristic  of  the  work.  It  may 
be  doubted  whether,  since  the  days  of  the  Apostles, 
there  has  been  so  large  a  development  of  the  lay 
talent  of  the  churches.  Long-buried  gifts  were  ex- 
humed. The  lame  besran  to  walk  and  the  dumb 
to  speak.  The  praying  force  of  the  First  church 
was  doubled.  Men  began  to  appreciate  their  long- 
neglected  privileges.  Christians  of  both  sexes 
were  stirred  up  to  extraordinary  efforts  for  bring- 
ing to  Christ  the  unconverted  around  them.  And 
it  was  most  interesting  to  see  how  a  few  words, 
kindly  spoken  by  a  friend,  were  often  the  power  of 
God  to  the  salvation  of  those  whom  the  Word 
preached  had  never  visibly  affected.  The  days 
had  come,  of  which  it  was  said,  "  I  will  pour  out  of 
my  Spirit  upon  all  flesh  :  and  your  sons  and  your 
daughters  shall  prophesy."  And  while  individual 
Christians  were  thus  "  speaking  the  truth  in  love, 
and  growing  up  into  Ilim  in  all  things,  which  is  the 
head,  even  Christ :  the  whole  body,  fitly  joined  to- 
gether and  compacted  by  that  which  every  joint  sup- 


236  A   FALSE  IMPRESSION. 

plied,  according  to  the  effectual  working  in  the 
moasuro  of  every  part,  made  increase  of  the  body 
unto  the  edifying  of  itself  in  love." 

The  unusual  attention  that  was  drawn  to  the 
prayer-meetings,  and  the  manifest  success  that  fol- 
lowed the  faithful  endeavors  of  private  Christians, 
created  impressions  in  some  minds  to  the  disparage- 
ment of  the  ministry.  While  the  secular  papers 
were  giving  daily  reports  of  the  progress  and  inci- 
dents of  the  revival,  it  was  more  than  once  hinted 
by  them  that  this  was  a  work  which  lay  outside  of 
the  sphere  of  ministerial  labor.  The  great  Head 
of  the  church,  it  was  intimated,  was  not  in  this  case 
saving  men  and  carrying  His  kingdom  forward  hy 
the  foolishness  of  preaching^  but  setting  that  aside  for 
another  agency,  or,  at  least,  subordinating  it  to  the 
latter.  Nothing  could  be  farther  from  the  truth. 
The  idea  arose,  evidently,  from  the  fact,  that  the 
revival  was  not  promoted  by  the  labors  of  men 
known  as  revival  preachers,  but  went  on  in  connec- 
tion with  the  ordinary  or  extraordinary  labors  of 
the  pastors.  It  was  a  harvest  for  which  they  had 
long  been  preparing  the  ground,  and  there  was 
no  class  of  laborers  more  active  in  gathering  it. 
]\linisters  were  everywhere  leaders  in  the  work. 
Each  had  his  hands  so  full  of  it  that  they  could 
scarcely  assist  one  anotlicr.  They  added  to  their 
preaching  appointments.  They  conducted  prayer- 
meetings.     They  had  meetings  for  inquirers.     They 


UNION    OF   CHRISTIANS.  237 

spent  much  time  with  those  who  came  to  converse 
with  them  privately,  and  much  in  their  labors  from 
house  to  house.  Never  were  the  spiritual  husband- 
man more  busy,  and  never  were  their  labors  more 
blessed.  It  was  the  admirable  union  and  harmony 
of  the  instruments  employed — ministers  and  lay- 
men, male  and  female,  in  the  pulpit,  the  prayer- 
meeting,  the  Sabbath-school,  and  elsewhere — that 
made  the  agency  of  the  ministry  less  conspicuous. 

A  most  delightful  characteristic  of  the  work  was 
seen  in  the  flowing  together  of  the  people  of  God 
without  regard  to  their  denominational  peculiari- 
ties. The  old  walls  of  sectarian  prejudice  and 
jealousy  seemed  broken  down.  Christians  came 
together,  with  one  heart,  to  pray  for  the  outpouring 
of  God's  Spirit,  and  to  praise  Him  for  His  mighty 
acts.  The  watchmen  saw  eye  to  eye.  They  were 
agreed  as  touching  the  things  they  asked.  They 
united  in  song  without  the  least  apparent  concern 
as  to  wliat  collection  the  hymn  belonged.  It  was 
often  observed,  that  none  could  tell  a  man's  church 
connections  by  the  prayers  he  offered.  The  citizens 
of  Zion  spoke  one  dialect,  and  poured  out  their 
desires  before  God  in  a  common  strain  of  suppli- 
cation. 

Another   observable   feature   was   the   quietude 

with  which  the  religious  meetings  were  conducted. 

There  was  none  of  the  extravagance  to  which  great 

excitements  sometimes  lead.     The  praying  assem- 

I  I* 


238  THE   SECULAR  PRESS. 

blies  were  solemnly  joyful.  Sobriety  and  good 
order  blended  witli  the  liveliest  zeal.  The  religious 
feeling,  like  a  deep  river,  was  profoundly  calm, 
while  the  current  flowed  on  with  majestic  strength. 

These  several  facts  may  account  for  another. 
The  work  encountered  little  of  opposition  or  ridi- 
cule from  the  world.  It  was  contemplated  and 
spoken  of  with  great  respect  by  those  who  took  no 
personal  interest  in  it;  excepting,  of  course,  the 
zealous  advocates  of  religious  theories  antagonistic 
to  it.  While  it  was  ridiculed  by  the  ultra-ecclesi- 
astical and  the  ultra-liberal  religious  journals,  it  was 
treated  by  the  more  respectable  secular  papers  as  a 
grand  religious  movement,  and  a  true  development 
of  the  Christian  life.  They  noted  its  progress. 
They  reported  its  incidents ;  and  men  of  the  world 
generally  appeared  to  regard,  with  respectful  awe, 
a  work  of  which  the  majesty  and  might,  the  depth 
and  the  extent,  were  such  as  proved  it  to  be  the 
work  of  God. 

The  subjects  of  the  revival  were  found  among 
all  classes,  yet  it  was  easily  discernible  that  God 
was  working  according  to  the  established  laws  of 
His  grace,  in  the  conversion  of  those,  especially, 
who  belonged  to  pious  families,  or  were  under  cor- 
rect religious  instruction.  The  Sabbath -schools  of 
the  evangelical  chui-ches  were  particularly  a  field 
which  the  Lord  blessed.  Even  cliildren  gave  de- 
lightful evidence  of  having  an  intelligent  experi- 


SUBJECTS   OF   THE    REVIVAL.  239 

ence  of  the  things  of  God.  It  was  now  seen  that 
truth  which  had  hiin  upon  the  mind,  apparently 
without  life,  had  not  been  put  there  in  vain.  The 
seed  had  received  an  invisible  watering.  It  had 
felt  the  quickening  warmth  of  the  Sun  of  Eight- 
eousness.  In  some  cases,  fathers  and  mothers,  long 
in  heaven,  saw  their  prayers  answered'  and  their 
last  earthly  desire  fulfilled,  in  the  conversion  of 
their  children.  And  it  required  no  very  close  at- 
tention to  discover  the  fruits  of  an  abundant  seed- 
sowing  by  the  Christian  press.  The  stirring  thoughts 
and  earnest  appeals  of  men  who,  being  dead,  yet 
speak,  were  now  awakening  a  simultaneous  response 
in  many  hearts,  under  the  gracious  operation  of 
the  Spirit  of  Life.  Of  the  class  of  people  who  are 
little  reached,  or  not  at  all,  by  the  direct  influences 
of  the  sanctuary  and  the  religious  press,  compara- 
tively few  were  reached  by  the  revival.  We  speak 
now  of  this  place  particularly,  though  we  believe 
the  statement  would  hold  generally  true.  The 
union  prayer-meeting,  established  in  one  of  our 
public  halls,  was  designed  especially  to  draw  in  a 
class  who  would  never  attend  a  prayer-meeting 
elsewhere,  and  who  habitually  neglected  the  house 
of  God.  For  a  time  the  object  was,  in  a  measure, 
realized.  The  novelty  of  such  a  noonday  gather- 
ing attracted  a  good  many  to  it.  But  their  curi- 
osity was  soon  satisfied.  The  Gospel  had  had  too 
little  connection  with  their  thoughts  and  habits  of 


240  T;AW   AND   GOSPEL. 

life  to  admit  of  a  long-continued  interest  in  the 
exercises  of  a  prayer-meeting,  or  of  any  deep  im- 
pression from  the  services  they  witnessed.  There 
were  some,  however,  of  this  class,  who  were  reached 
and  rescued  by  the  infinite  mercy  of  God,  and 
whose  feet  were  turned  to  a  way  they  had  long  de- 
spised. 

The  happy  flow  of  Christian  love  in  the  prayer- 
meetings  was  the  occasion  of  an  impression — a 
quite  general  one — which  we  believe  to  have  been 
erroneous.  It  has  been  supposed  that  the  penalties 
affixed  to  moral  law  have  had  little  force  in  this 
awakening,  and  have  been  little  appealed  to  in  the 
v/ay  of  motive  to  bring  sinners  to  repentance.  It 
has  been  said,  and  with  apparent  satisfaction,  that 
ministers  have  ceased  to  operate  upon  the  fears  of 
men,  having  learned  the  more  excellent  way  of  at- 
tracting them  heavenward  by  the  power  of  love. 
The  statement  has  more  the  appearance  than  the 
reality  of  truth.  For  behind  the  prayer-meeting, 
which  has  stood  foremost  in  the  public  view,  have 
stood  pulpits  in  which  ministers  have  not  shunned 
to  declare  the  whole  counsel  of  God.  They  never 
ceased  to  hold  up  the  law  in  its  proper  relations  to 
the  cross  of  Christ — that  law  by  which  comes  the 
knowledge  of  sin,  and  which  the  Eedeemer  came, 
not  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfil.  Nor  can  it  be  that 
that  divine  Agent,  whose  first  work  as  the  Com- 
forter is  to  convince  men   of  sin,  of  rigliteousness, 


NEW    METHODIST   CHURCH.  241 

and  of  judgment  to  come,  would  have  sanctioned 
a  policy  at  variance  with  His  own,  by  the  bestowal 
of  such  blessings  as  the  church  has  received. 

This  revival  added  to  the  diiferent  churches  of 
Orange  between  three  and  four  hundred  communi- 
cants,— the  First  church  receiving  about  fifty.  Its 
results  were  greater  in  the  township,  but  less  in  this 
congregation,  than  those  of  the  two  revivals  noticed 
in  the  earlier  part  of  Dr.  Hillyer's  ministry. 

The  Methodist  congregation,  which  was  consider- 
ably strengthened  by  the  revival,  undertook  at  this 
time  the  building  of  a  new  house  of  worship.  For 
the  auspicious  circumstances  Avhich  gave  rise  to 
this  undertaking,  much  credit  might  be  accorded  to 
the  pastors  who  had  successively  served  the  con- 
gregation. The  minister  who  had  just  left  the 
charge  (Rev.  James  M.  Freeman)  had  been  espe- 
cially laborious.  For  three  months  and  more, 
during  the  revival,  he  had  conducted  a  religious 
service  every  evening  in  the  week  but  Saturday, 
the  service  consisting  of  a  short  discourse,  followed 
by  a  season  of  prayer  and  conversation  with  in- 
quirers. The  building  enterprise  fell  into  the 
hands  of  Eev.  Lewis  R  Dunn.  On  the  15th  of 
September,  1858,  the  corner-stone  was  laid  for  a 
neat  Gothic  edifice  of  brick,  which  was  placed  on 
the  old  site  in  Main  street,  tlie  former  house  being 
removed  to  the  rear,  to  be  used  for  Sunday-school 
and  other  purposes.     The  building  was  completed 


242  ORANGE   GAS-WORKS. 

the  next  summer,  and,  on  the  28th  of  July,  was 
consecrated  with  appropriate  services.  This  con- 
gregation, which  has  been  steadily  prosperous  since 
it  was  known  to  the  writer,  has  now  before  it  the 
fairest  promise  of  continued  prosperity. 

At  the  last  parish  meeting  of  the  First  church, 
an  appropriation  was  voted  for  the  purpose  of  hav- 
ing the  church  and  lecture-room  lighted  with  gas, 
then  about  to  be  supplied  to  the  village.  The 
business  has  since  been  executed  ;  the  Orange  gas- 
works are  in  oj)eration,  and  the  time  is  evidently 
near  when  our  citizens  generally  will  enjoy,  in 
their  houses,  the  benefit  of  this  agreeable  illumina- 
tor. The  gas-works,  located  in  the  valley  near  the 
west  end  of  White  street,  were  erected  by  Messrs. 
Hoy  &  Kennedy,  of  Trenton. 

The  mission  Sunday-school,  which  was  founded 
by  Mr.  Greacen,  in  Orange  Yalley  (at  first  called 
Freemantown),  was,  after  his  death,  placed  under 
the  superintendence  of  Mr.  Abraham  Baldwin,  by 
the  unanimous  desire  of  the  teachers  engaged  in  it. 
Mr.  Baldwin  had  for  some  time  been  connected  with 
it,  and  he  has  since  devoted  himself  to  its  interests 
with  peculiar  earnestness.  The  enterprise,  vigor- 
ously carried  forward  by  him  and  his  fellow - 
laborers,  has  been  a  remarkable  success,  the  school 
having  now  a  roll  of  a  hundred  and  seventy-five 
pupils.  It  shared  the  influences  of  the  late  revival 
in  copious  measure.      Meetings   for   prayer  were 


MISSION   CHAPEL.  243 

held  in  the  school-room  several  times  a  week,  and 
for  some  time  daily.  Preaching  services  were  also 
held,  and  the  families  in  that  neighborhood  were 
visited  by  the  superintendent  and  others,  the  pas- 
tor participating  so  far  as  was  compatible  with  the 
multiplicity  of  his  engagements.  About  that  time, 
the  stated  services  of  the  Eev.  Dr.  Hay  were  en- 
gaged for  the  Sabbath  afternoon,  and  a  small  but 
regular  and  promising  congregation  has  been  gath- 
ered under  his  labors  there,  which  are  still  con- 
tinued. The  Sabbath-school  and  congregation  hav- 
ing become  too  large  for  a  school-room,  it  was 
resolved,  during  the  last  summer,  to  provide  for 
their  use  a  chapel.  The  means  required  ($3,500) 
were  promptly  subscribed,  and  the  work  was  im- 
mediately begun.  A  site  for  the  edifice  was  select- 
ed, the  ground  being  donated  by  Mr.  Ira  Tompkins. 
The  stone  was  soon  on  its  way  from  the  quarry. 
On  the  12th  of  September,  the  corner-stone  was 
laid  by  Dr.  Hay,  with  suitable  ceremonies,  in  pres- 
ence of  a  numerous  assemblage  of  the  surrounding 
residents.  The  building  fronts  upon  a  new  street, 
soon  to  be  opened,  on  a  line  between  the  Orange 
Valley  railroad-station  and  the  mountain.  This 
enterprise,  which  is  yet  of  a  missionary  character, 
will  ere  long  add  another  to  the  growing  list  of 
Orange  churches. 

The  Sunday-school  formed  in  1816,  for  the  ben- 
efit of  the  colored  population, — it  being  previous  to 


244  AFRICAN   SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

their  emancipation, — was,  in  process  of  time,  dis- 
continued. For  many  years,  while  they  were  wast- 
ing in  numbers,  no  special  provision  was  made  for 
their  religious  instruction.  They  have  continued  to 
be  sparsely  mingled  with  the  general  population  of 
the  town,  and  with  the  membership  of  its  churches. 
In  the  summer  of  1857,  one  of  the  youngest  of  the 
female  members  of  this  church,  having  just  conse- 
crated herself  to  the  service  of  the  Meek  and  Lowly, 
undertook  the  instruction  of  a  colored  class  at  the 
close  of  the  afternoon  service  of  the  Sabbath.  The 
class  increased  till  others  joined  her.  As  it  con- 
tinued to  grow  in  numbers  and  interest,  the  need 
was  felt  of  a  gentleman  to  superintend  the  exer- 
cises. This  service  was  kindly  undertaken  by  Mr. 
Jarvis  M.  Fairchild,  who  has  continued  to  perform 
it,  except  when  absent  from  the  place  for  the  re- 
covery of  his  health.  The  labors  bestowed  upon 
this  hitherto  neglected  class  are  a  praise-worthy 
exhibition  of  the  spirit  of  Christian  love. 

"We  have  now  reached  the  end  (^f  a  historj^  which, 
from  the  first  settlements  in  Newark,  has  been 
brought  down  through  a  period  of  nearly  two  hun- 
dred years.  As  we  have  followed  it,  oui"  thoughts 
have  blended  with  the  life  of  six  generations.  We 
have  seen,  indeed,  but  little  of  their  inner  life,  and 
we  have  taken  but  a  cursory  view  of  what  was 
outward  and  historical  ;  but  we  have  seen  enough 


CLOSING  THOUGHTS.  245 

to  beget  a  feeling  of  sympathy  with  these  men  of 
the  past,  who  once  walked  upon  the  same  soil, 
looked  upon  the  same  landscape,  worshipped  the 
same  God,  and  lived  for  the  same  high  purpose 
with  ourselves.  They  have  transmitted  to  us  a 
goodly  heritage.  Their  language  is  ours ;  their 
faith  is  ours  ;  the  fruits  of  their  toil  and  suffering 
are  ours.     "Well  may  we  cherish  their  memories ! 

How  mucli  do  we  owe  to  the  enterprise,  how 
much  to  the  patience  and  piety,  of  these  men  of 
other  days !  As  we  walk  into  the  old  graveyard, 
and  brush  the  grey  moss  from  their  tomb-stones, 
we  may  read  upon  each,  or  almost  each,  the  name 
of  a  benefactor.  They  lived  for  the  future.  They 
cleared  the  soil,  built  the  sanctuary,  founded  Chris- 
tian institutions,  and  labored  together  in  the  gos- 
pel work,  not  less  for  us  than  for  themselves. 
They  had  posterity  in.  their  thoughts,  and  the 
prayer  went  often  up  from  their  hearths  and  their 
altars,  that  the  institutions  which  they  planted 
might  live,  and  the  blessings  which  they  enjoyed 
might  be  perpetuated  through  many  generations. 

Xor  to  them  only  is  this  debt  of  gratitude  due. 
There  was  a  power  above  them,  a  wisdom  higher 
and  a  purpose  mightier  than  theirs.  He  who 
liveth  for  ever  and  ever  wrought  in  them  and 
by  them  for  the  carrying  out  of  His  own  plans, 
for  the  pcrpetuit}^  and  increase  of  that  "Church 
of  the  living  God "  to  which  all  human  instories 


246  PLANS   OF   PKOVIDENCE. 

belong.  It  is  His  divine  counsels  that  bind  the 
centuries  together.  His  providence  unites  in  one 
grand  system  all  that  is  past  with  all  that  is  pres- 
ent and  to  come.  "  He  only  hath  immortality," 
and  but  for  Him  they  and  their  works  would  have 
perished  together.  Yet  their  works  have  followed 
them.  The  Church  which  they  founded  still  rests 
upon  the  rock  on  which  they  laid  its  foundations. 
The  gospel  which  they  loved,  and  for  whose  de- 
fence they  were  set,  is  still  proclaimed,  and  be- 
lieved, and  made  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation. 
Others  have  entered  into  their  labors,  while  they 
have  entered  into  their  rest.  And  this  Providence 
is  still  over  the  world,  over  the  Church,  over  the 
present  generation.  And  it  will  save  all  that  is 
worth  saving  in  their  works.  It  carries  a  fan  in  its 
hand.  It  separates  the  chaff  from  the  wheat,  burn- 
ing the  one,  while  it  garners  the  other.  Of  its  net- 
gatherings  of  all  kinds,  both  good  and  bad,  the 
good  only  is  permanently  preserved ;  the  bad  is, 
sooner  or  later,  cast  away.  There  is,  somehow 
or  other,  under  Providence,  a  peculiar  vitality  in 
truth  and  virtue — in  that  which  is  like  God.  The 
memory  of  the  just  is  blessed,  while  the  wicked 
perish  and  are  forgotten.  The  institutions  of  the 
Church  abide,  while  the  world  passeth  away,  and 
the  lust  thereof  He  who  sits  upon  the  throne, 
judging  right,  will  eternally  guard  the  great  inter- 
ests of  His  spiritual   kingdom.     With   Ilim   the 


SOCIAL   PROGRESS.  247 

Church  is  safe.  In  Him  all  institutions  of  His  es- 
tablishing have  a  strength,  a  power,  a  life,  that  de- 
fies decay. 

These  truths  have  their  illustration  in  the  history 
here  given.  The  great  land-monopoly,  which  so 
long  embarrassed  the  New  Jersey  settlements,  and 
interfered  with  their  prosperity,  has  come  to  end. 
The  evils  inseparable  from  the  old  colonial  govern- 
ment, administered  by  a  power  too  remote  to  feel 
a  due  sympathy  with  its  subjects,  have  ceased  to 
exist.  An  unfortunate  people,  long  held  in  unprof- 
itable and  dangerous  bondage,  have  been  emanci- 
pated, and  in  a  measure  elevated.  Many  walls, 
built  up  and  guarded  by  ecclesiastical  bigotry  and 
prejudice,  have  crumbled  down.  There  is  a  far 
better  understanding  of  the  rights  of  property,  the 
rights  of  labor,  and  the  rights  of  conscience,  than 
there  was  a  hundred,  or  even  fifty  years  ago.  The 
knife  of  Providence  has  been  gradually  pruning 
the  institutions  whose  planting  and  growth  this 
history  records.  Much  that  was  evil,  and  produc- 
tive of  evil,  has  been  removed.  What  was  conso- 
nant with  the  genius  of  Christianity,  and  with  the 
best  interests  of  the  fature,  has  been  preserved. 

Such  a  character  we  claim,  in  no  exclusive  and 
uncharitable  spirit,  for  the  Church  around  which 
the  materials  of  this  narrative  have  been  gathered. 
We  are  not  given  to  ecclesiolatry.  We  have  no 
reverence  to  spare  for  ancient  temples  of  the  truth 


248  WHAT   WE   CLAIM. 

from  which,  the  truth  has  fled.  Our  devotions  are 
little  drawn  toward  the  once  Christian  sanctuary  on. 
whose  dome  the  crescent  has  taken  the  place  of  the 
cross.  We  are  well  aware  that  error  often  en- 
shrines itself  in  sacred  places,  to  the  expulsion  of 
the  truth ;  that  it  assumes  venerated  names,  and 
appears  in  the  holiest  livery  ;  and  that  it  finds  suf- 
ficient aliment  in  the  nature  of  man  to  give  it,  if 
God  permit,  a  long  vitality.  But  we  believe — and 
the  most  of  our  readers,  if  not  every  one,  will,  we 
think,  accord  to  us  thus  much — that  our  venerable 
Church  has  stood  as  the  representative  and  guardian 
of  a  faith  essentially  true ;  that  the  candlestick  upon 
its  altar  has  been  held  by  men  honored  and  blessed 
of  God ;  that  it  has  been  a  fortress  of  freedom,  a 
defence  of  the  gospel,  a  blessing  to  generations  liv- 
ing and  dead.  This  belief  is  entertained  with  no 
feeling  of  jealousy  or  disrespect  toward  the  many 
lights  that  are  now  shining  around  it.  May  they 
evermore  burn,  fed  by  the  olive  of  peace,  and 
blending  their  many-colored  radiance  to  illuminate 
and  beautify  the  one  living  temple  of  the  Holy 
Spirit ! 

The  following  churches  now  exist  within  the 
parochial  limits  occupied  by  tliis  Society  alone,  in 
1825: 

1.  The  First  Presbyterian  Church,  standing  in 


EXISTING   CHURCHES.  249 

Main  street,  near  the  Kortli  Orange  depot.  The 
Church  was  organized,  in  or  about  the  year  1719, 
as  an  Independent  Church ;  became  Presbyterian 
in  1748 ;  was  incorporated  in  1783,  as  the  Second 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Newark ;  received  its 
present  title  in  1811.  The  average  length  of  five 
consecutive  pastorates,  now  ended,  has  been  about 
twenty-seven  years.  Present  membership,  326. 
Families  of  the  parish,  about  175.  Pupils  in  the 
Sabbath-school,  135  ;  Orange  Yalley  school,  175 ; 
school  for  colored  persons,  15  to  20. 

2.  St.  Mark's  Episcopal  Church,  organized  in 
1827,  at  the  junction  of  Main  and  Valley  streets. 
Its  house  of  worship  was  completed  and  conse- 
crated in  1829.  Present  rector,  Eev.  James  A, 
Williams.  Communicants,^  161.  FamOies  and 
pew-holders,  88. 

3.  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  North  Orange, 
formed  in  1829  ;  situated  in  Main  street,  near  Cen- 
ter. Its  first  house  of  worship  was  built  in  1831 ; 
its  second  in  1859.  Present  membership,  includ- 
ing probationers,  260.  Minister  in  charge,  Eev. 
Lewis  E.  Dunn.  Sabbath-school  attendance,  from 
150  to  200. 

4.  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  corner  of  Main 
and  Prospect  streets.  Organized  in  1831.  Mem- 
bers in  communion,  417.    Families,  185.    Children 


250  EXISTING  CHURCHES. 

in  two   Sabbath-schools,  200 ;  mission-school,  50. 
Pastor,  Kcv.  John  Crowell. 

5.  South  Orange  Presbyterian  Church,  organ- 
ized in  1831.  Communicants,  157.  Families,  about 
100.  Sabbath-school,  103.  Pastor,  Eev.  Daniel 
G.  Sprague. 

6.  Baptist  Church  at  East  Orange,  constituted 
in  1837.  The  present  pastor  is  Kev.  "William  D. 
Hedden.     Communicants,  67.     Sabbath-school,  50. 

7.  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South  Orange. 
Formed  in  1850.  Persons  in  full  membership,  20. 
The  Society  has  a  small  house  of  worship,  in  which 
religious  services  are  statedly  held  on  the  Sabbath, 
conducted  by  a  local  preacher. 

8.  St.  John's  Roman  Catholic  Church,  built  in 
1851.  It  is  now  in  charge  of  Rev.  John  Murray. 
Communicants,  about  750.  Children  receiving  in- 
struction, 100.  The  church  is  situated  on  White 
street,  near  Boyd. 

9.  Grace  Episcopal  Church,  in  Main,  between 
Park  and  Hillj'cr  streets.  Organized  in  185-1. 
House  of  worship  consecrated  in  1858.  Members 
in  communion,  126.  Families,  86.  Sabbath- 
school,  6-1  to  70.     Parishioners  of  both  sexes,  380, 


EXISTING   CHURCHES.  251 

10.  Baptist  Claurcli  of  Nortli  Orange,  constituted 
in  1857.  Communicants,  100;  Sabbath-scliool, 
150.  The  congregation  meets  for  worship  in 
Waverly  HalL  Mr.  Morse,  finding  his  health  im- 
paired, closed  his  ministry  with  this  church  Octo- 
ber 2,  1859.  He  has  been  succeeded  by  Eev. 
George  Webster. 

11.  A  "New  Church,"  or  Swedenborgian  Soci- 
ety, has  held  separate  worship  for  the  last  two 
years  under  the  ministrations  of  Rev.  Benjamin  F, 
Barrett.  Its  meetings,  until  last  spring,  were  at 
Mr.  Barrett's  residence,  on  Main  street.  They  are 
now  held  at  Library  Hall. 

12.  A  Protestant  Episcopal  Society  was  formed, 
in  October,  1859,  at  South  Orange.  This  new  So- 
ciety is  yet  without  a  minister  and  a  house  of  wor- 
ship. Its  religious  services  are  held  in  the  Meth- 
odist Church. 

13.  The  Orange  Valley  congregation  is  not  yet 
organized  as  a  Church,  but  is  erecting  a  house  of 
worship.  It  comprises  many  families  connected 
with  the  First  Church,  and  has  a  flourishing 
Sabbath-school.  Preaching  by  Rev.  Philip  C. 
Hay,  D.  D. 

14.  A  small  congregation  of  German  Protes- 
tants, mostly  Lutheran,  was  gathered  four  or  five 


252  UNION   SCHOOLS. 

years  ago,  meeting  at  first  in  tlie  lecture-room  of 
the  First  Cliurch,  and  afterward  in  Washington 
Hall.  It  has  now  a  regular  service  on  the  Sab- 
bath at  Bodwell's  Hal],  under  the  ministry  of  Eev. 
Gottfried  Schmidt. 

In  the  Franklin  school-house  (Doddtown)  a 
Union  Sabbath-school  is  sustained,  and  also  a 
weekly  preaching  service,  at  which  the  clergy  of 
the  different  denominations  officiate  in  tarn.  A 
similar  service  has  for  a  year  or  two  been  held 
at  the  school-house  on  Yalley  street,  near  Williams- 
ville. 

The  Mission  Sunday-school,  established  during 
the  past  year  in  Bodwell's  Hall,  where  a  weekly 
prayer-meeting  is  also  held,  is  doing  a  useful  work. 
It  originated  with  members  of  the  Second  Cliurch. 


CHAPTER  IX. 
A  VIEW   OF   ORANGE. 

IN  1834,  Orange  was  described  as  a  straggling  vil- 
lage and  post-town,  extending  about  three  miles 
along  the  turnpike  from  Newark  toward  Dover;  con- 
taining two  Presbyterian  churches,  one  Episcopal, 
and  one  Methodist ;  two  taverns,  ten  stores,  two  saw- 
mills and  a  bark-mill,  and  from  200  to  230  dwell- 
ings, many  of  them  very  neat  and  commodious.  A 
large  trade  was  carried  on  in  the  manufacture  of 
leather,  shoes  and  hats.*  The  population  of  the 
township  in  1830  was  3,887.  In  1850  it  was  4,385. 
At  this  time  it  is  supposed  to  be  from  eight  to  ten 
thousand.  For  the  last  ten  years  the  immigration 
east  of  the  mountain  has  been  rapid,  and  every 
year  increasing.  Men  of  business  in  the  large  cities 
near,  and  persons  seeking  health,  have  found  here 
the  conditions  of  climate,  scenery  and  situation  de- 
sirable for  a  rural  home.  And  since  the  tide 
began  to  set  in  this  direction,  it  has  had  no  check. 

*"■  Gordon's  Hist.  New  Jersey-. 

12 


254  CLIMATE   AND    I'OSITIOX. 

Orange  has  a  geographical  position  which  imparts 
to  its  climate  some  favorable  peculiarities.  While 
it  is  approached  by  the  sea  on  the  south-east,  it  is 
very  seldom  that  winds  come  from  that  quarter,  so 
that  invalids  for  whom  a  sea  atmosphere  is  too 
severe,  find  here  a  shelter  from  its  influence  within 
a  few  miles  from  the  coast.  The  south  winds  are 
always  bland,  and  those  from  the  north-east,  coming 
from  the  New  England  coast,  have  left  the  ocean 
at  too  great  a  distance  to  be  sensibly  affected  by  it. 
Hence  persons  suffering  from  pulmonary  com- 
plaints often  experience  much  benefit  from  a  resi- 
dence here.* 

The  distanci  from  Newark  is  from  three  to  five 
miles ;  from  New  York  about  twelve.  With  both 
places  there  is  constant  communication  by  the 
Morris  and  Essex  railroad,  and  with  the  former,  by 
lines  of  stages  that  are  running  nearly  every  hour 
of  the  day.  From  South  to  East  Orange,  within  a 
distance  of  five  miles,  there  are  six  railway  stations, 
showing  at  once  a  large  amount  of  travel,  and  the 
breadth  of  territory  which  the  influx  of  population 
is  filling  up.  The  future  Orange  is  projected  upon 
a  scale  of  extraordinary  compass.  And  its  outlines 
have  been  drawn,  not  on  paper  by  the  hand  of 
speculation,  but  on  the  soil  by  actual  settlement. 

*  See  an  article  by  Dr.  Stephen  Wickcs,  on  tlie  Medical  Topog- 
raphy of  Orange,  in  "  Transactions  of  tlie  N.  J.  State  Medical  So- 
ciety for  1859." 


MOUNTAIN   AND    PLAIN.  255 

Let  a  stranger  take  his  position  on  Eagle  Rock,  or 
any  point  along  the  ridge  of  the  mountain,  and  turn 
his  eye  in  the  direction  of  Newark.  He  will  see  an 
extended  landscape  beautified  already  by  charming 
residences,  while  the  sight  of  newly-opened  streets, 
and  foundations,  frames  and  unfinished  houses,  will 
suggest  to  him  that  he  sees  yet  but  the  fair  outline 
of  a  picture  which  time  is  rapidly  executing.  If  he 
now  change  his  position  to  a  point  within  the  land- 
scape over  Avhich  he  has  looked,  and  turn  the  eye 
backward  to  the  mountain,  he  will  see  the  straight 
line  of  an  elevated  horizon  drawn  on  the  western 
sky — a  horizon  so  even  and  uniform  as  scarcely  to 
be  broken  by  a  projecting  tree-top  or  rocky  spur — 
and  from  that  a  green  slope  descending  to  the  east, 
upon  which  the  homes  of  wealth  and  taste  look 
smilingly  out  from  their  sylvan  surroundings. 
The  view  in  either  direction  is  exceedingly  pictur- 
esque. It  is  a  question  not  yet  settled  between  the 
inhabitants  of  the  hill-side  and  their  less  elevated 
neighbors,  which  of  the  two  is  the  more  attractive 
and  pleasing  to  the  eye, — the  mountain,  or  the  plain. 
The  former  class  have  the  advantage  of  a  more  ex- 
tended view,  embracing  West  Bloomfield,  Orange, 
Newark  and  its  bay,  Staten  Island,  and  the  roofs 
and  steeples  of  New  York. 

The  business  of  the  place  is  mechanical,  mercan- 
tile and  manufacturing.  The  stores  which  line 
Main  street  carry  on  a  large  retail  trade,  while  the 


256  LLEWELLYN    PARK. 

hat  and  shoe  shops,  some  of  them  employing  several 
hundred  hands,  furnish  a  large  supply  for  northern 
and  southern  markets.*  The  farms  are  disappear- 
ing, or  becoming  of  little  value  for  agricultural  pur- 
poses. Year  by  year  the  old  boundaries  vanish, 
the  field  is  converted  into  a  garden,  and  the  meadow 
to  a  lawn. 

In  no  part  of  Orange  is  this  transformation  more 
conspicuous  than  in  the  grounds  surrounding 
Llewellyn  Park.  The  project  of  these  grounds 
originated  with  our  townsman,  Llewellyn  S.  Has- 
kell, whose  trans-atlantic  prenomen  is  fitly  associat- 
ed with  the  foreign  blooms  and  shrubbery  that  he 
has  caused  to  mingle  with  the  native  growth  of  the 
hill- side.  The  park  embraces  fifty  acres  on  the 
eastern  slope  of  the  mountain,  around  which  are 
three  hundred  acres  or  more  which  that  gentleman 
has  purchased,  to  be  occupied  as  rural  residences 
under  the  rules  of  an  association.  The  front  en- 
trance to  the  grounds  is  on  Yalley  street,  about  a 
mile  from  the  North  Orange  depot.  The  inclosure 
"contains  hills,  dales  and  glens;  springs,  streams 
and  ponds;  magnificent  forest  trees,  innumerable 
ornamental  trees,  bushes,  vines  and  flowers ;  kiosks, 

"  "Although  this  village  contains  so  small  a  population,  there  is 
upwards  of  $200,000  of  capital  employed  in  manufactures.  There 
are  ten  schools  and  tive  hundred  scholars,  more  or  less  receiving  a 
free  education,  or  at  the  expense  of  the  State." — Specimen  number 
of  the  Orange  Journal,  January  7,  JS54. 


PURCHASEES   AND    PRICES.  257 

stone  bridges  and  rustic  seats  ;"*  winding  foot-paths, 
avenues  and  carriage  roads  ;  all  together  forming  a 
landscape  in  which  art  and  nature  seem  as  rivals, 
and  yet  in  harmonious  alliance.  The  limits  of  our 
chapter  forbid  a  detailed  description.  It  belongs  to 
the  present  historian  of  Orange  to  notice  the  begin- 
nings of  this  successful  and  much  admired  enter- 
prise. To  the  future  the  Park  will  be  its  own  lim- 
ner. The  grounds  have  already  found  purchasers, 
and  six  or  eight  beautiful  dwellings,  erected  within 
the  year  past,  furnish  types  of  the  model  homes 
which  are  soon  to  be  their  happiest  ornament.  We 
have  fancied,  in  travelling  over  these  delightful 
grounds,  which  overlook  the  homes  of  Newark  and 
New  York,  that  it  was  from  some  such  spot,  with 
"  the  resounding  shore  "  perhaps  a  little  nearer,  the 
author  of  The  Minstrel  made  his  appeal  to  the  lover 
of  city  life : 

"  0  how  canst  thou  renounce  the  boundless  store 
Of  charms  which  Nature  to  her  votary  yields  ; 

*  See  a  full  description  of  the  Park  in  the  Orange  Journal  of 
June  6,  1857,  by  the  editor.  The  present  value  of  the  lands,  which 
Mr.  Haskell  obtained  at  prices  ranging  from  $150  to  $500  per  acre, 
and  which  are  purchased  of  him  in  building  lots  at  the  rate  of  $1000 
to  $1200  per  acre,  would  have  startled  the  old  Indian  proprietors, 
who,  as  we  have  seen,  signed  their  quit-claim  to  the  whole  moun- 
tain side  for  "two  guns,  three  coats,  and  thirteen  cans  of  rum." 
Desirable  sites  in  the  village  are  rated  as  high  as  $3000  per  acre. 
Along  Tremont  Avenue,  half-way  to  South  Orange,  $800  have  been 
paid.  To  the  men  of  twenty  years  ago  these  prices  would  have 
seemed  fabulous,  but  the  demand  creates  them. 


258  EAGLE   ROCK. 

The  warbling  woodland,  the  resounding  shore, 
The  pomp  of  groves,  and  garniture  of  fields ; 

All  that  the  genial  ray  of  morning  gilds, 
And  all  that  echoes  to  the  song  of  even ; 

All  that  the  mountain's  sheltering  bosom  shields, 

And  all  the  dread  magnificence  of  heaven — 

0  how  canst  thou  renounce  and  hope  to  be  forgiven?" 

On  the  southern  border  of  this  tract,  and  now 
connected  with  it,  are  the  grounds  upon  which 
a  number  of  fine  residences  have  been  built  by 
Daniel  C.  Otis.  The  entrance  to  them  is  from  the 
turnpike  road  that  forms  their  boundary  on  the 
south. 

Just  north  of  the  Park  is  Eagle  Boch,  a  point  of 
the  mountain  which  is  much  visited,  and  from  which, 
in  a  clear  afternoon,  there  is  a  very  rich  and  exten- 
sive view,  embracing  New  York,  Staten  Island  and 
the  waters  that  divide  it  from  Newark,  the  roofs  and 
steeples  of  the  latter  city  in  a  south-easterly  direc- 
tion, West  Bloomfield  to  the  north-west,  and  Orange 
spreading  widely  over  the  plain  to  the  south-east. 
And  here  we  may  introduce  a  few  lines  from  an 
anonymous  poet,  who  is  presumed  to  have  drawn 
his  inspiration  from  the  spot,  Orange  being  the  sub- 
ject of  his  description. 

"  From  hills  that  hide  the  western  sky, 
And  throw  their  shadows  o'er  the  lea, 
I  downward  turn  the  enamored  eye. 
And  see  thee  stretching  toward  the  sea. 


THE   MINERAL  SPRING.  259 

On  slope  and  knoll  and  spreading  vale, 
On  lawns  that  kiss  the  summer  gale, 
In  rustic  ease  or  princely  guise 
I  see  thy  homes  of  beauty  rise. 
I  see  the  throng  at  close  of  day 

Escaping  from  the  city's  din. 
By  stage  or  train,  as  best  they  may, 

And  disappear  those  homes  within : 
By  stage  or  train,  they  little  care, 
Who  once  have  snuffed  our  mountain  au-."* 

Within  a  hundred  rods  of  Saint  Mark's  church, 
at  the  base  of  the  mountain,  the  visitor  is  per- 
mitted a  free  ingress  to  the  grounds  which  enclose 
the  once  celebrated  Mineral  Spring  of  Orange.  He 
here  finds  himself  in  the  presence  of  two  con- 
spicuous mansions,  owned  and  occupied  by  Messrs. 
Heckscher  and  Pillot.  He  will  hardly  resist  the 
temptation  to  enter  the  premises,  to  which  the  pub- 
lic are  generously  admitted,  nor  will  the  beauties 
impressed  upon  his  memory  be  soon  obliterated. 
The  chalybeate  fountain  shows  no  particular  traces 
of  its  ancient  ambition  to  attract  the  stranger.  A 
little  arbor,  however,  still  marks  the  spot  where  the 
multitudes  once  sat,  as  around  Bethesda,  in  the 
hope  of  healing.  Around  are  groves  and  running 
waters,  cascades  and  artificial  ponds,  fences  of 
rustic  W' ork,  elaborately  plain,  the  foot-bridge  that 
lightly  spans  the  chasm,  and  the  solid  staircase 
hewn  from  the  rock.     Within  the  more  private 

*  Carrier's  Address  of  the  Orange  Journal,  1859. 


260  THE    MOUNTAIN   HOUSE. 

grounds,  where  lawn  and  garden  spread  out  to  the 
eye  a  rich  diversity  of  colors,  forms  and  fruits,  we 
shall  not  at  present  enter.  The  place  has  for  the 
visitor  a  double  interest,  from  the  beauties  it  now 
exhibits  and  from  its  historic  associations. 

Pursuing  the  slope  of  the  mountain  southward, 
the  eye  passes  over  a  tract  known  as  Barretfs  Parh, 
owned  by  our  townsman,  Eev.  B.  F.  Barrett,  in 
which  are  seen  the  beginnings  of  another  enter- 
prise of  settlement.  A  road  is  now  opened  through 
it,  passing  up  the  ravine  and  terminating  on  a  ter- 
race of  the  hill  which  furnishes  some  attractive 
situations  for  the  future  settler.  Still  southward, 
between  this  and  the  Mountain  House,  are  the 
elegant  country  seats  of  Dr.  Lowell  Mason  and 
sons,  the  latter  (Daniel  and  Lowell)  constituting 
the  firm  of  Mason  Brothers,  book  publishers  of 
New  York.  Passing  others,  the  eye  rests  upon  the 
Mountain  House,  built  for  a  Water-Cure,  but  now 
used  for  a  summer  hotel.  This  fine  establishment, 
with  its  forest  of  shade  and  its  many  alluring  re- 
treats, is  near  the  southern  line  of  the  township,  in 
the  vicinity  of  South  Orange.  Eeturning  along 
the  valley,  we  pass  through  the  thickening  settle- 
ment that  is  filling  up  the  interval  between  North 
and  South  Orange,  and  in  which  the  walls  of  a 
stone  sanctuary  have  just  been  raised.  This  in- 
cipient village  has  till  recently  borne  the  names 
(from  families  residing  in  it)  of  Freemantown  and 


STREETS  AND  STREAMS,  261 

Stetsonville.  The  name  more  lately  adopted,  and 
marked  in  the  list  of  railway  stations,  is  Orange 
Valley.  The  recent  opening  of  Ti'emont  avenue 
connects  it  eastwardly  with  Centre  street,  and  by 
a  more  direct  transit  with  Newark.  Along  this 
avenue,  as  it  runs  up  the  slope  east  of  the  val- 
ley, a  number  of  mansions  already  appear. 

In  the  eastern  section  of  the  village,  on  Harrison, 
Main,  Prospect,  and  other  streets,  the  progress  of 
settlement,  and  of  wealth  and  taste  in  the  erection 
of  buildings,  is  equally  visible.  The  same  is  true 
of  Day,  High,  Boyd,  Scotland,  and  Centre  streets. 
There  are  indeed  few  localities  in  or  about  the 
village  to  which  the  statement  will  not  apply.  In 
Dublin  street  and  its  neighborhood,  where  there  is  a 
centralized  population  of  Irish,  tenements  are  built 
to  suit  the  local  demand. 

Half  a  mile  north-east  of  the  village,  in  the 
direction  of  Bloomfield,  is  Springdale  Lake.  This 
artificial  reservoir,  owned  by  Matthias  Soverel,  is 
fed  by  a  liberal  spring  near  its  southern  margin, 
and  furnishes  a  copious  supply  of  ice.  Its  waters 
are  received  by  the  Second  river,  which  has  its 
proper  beginning  in  a  pond  just  above,  into  which 
are  emptied  the  Neshuine  from  the  north,  Wigwam 
brook  from  the  west,  and  Parow's  brook  from  the 
south.  The  first  of  these  streams  crosses  the  Dodd- 
town  road  a  little  east  of  the  cemetery ;  the  second 
comes  down  by  Williamsville,  receiving  on  its 
12* 


262  ROSEDALE   CEMETERY. 

way  a  southern  tributary  whose  sources  lie  in  and 
around  Llewellyn  Park ;  the  third  is  the  stream 
already  familiar  to  the  reader,  which  crosses  Main 
street  by  the  Willow  Hall  Market.  The  stream 
formed  by  the  three  runs  north-eastwardly  into 
Bloomfield,  where  it  spreads  out  into  a  shallow 
basin  forming  Watsessing  lake. 

Eosedale  Cemetery  lies  to  the  north  of  Orange, 
a  little  less  than  a  mile  distant  from  Main  street. 
It  is  approached  from  the  south  and  south-east  by 
Day  and  "Washington  streets.  We  take  the  follow- 
ing account  of  it  from  an  article  published  in  the 
specimen  number  of  the  Orange  Journal,  January 
7,  1854. 

"  The  enterprise  originated  with  a  few  gentlemen 
connected  with  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church, 
all  of  whom  are  yet  among  its  acting  directors. 
Not  long  after  the  organization  of  this  church,  it 
was  deemed  expedient  to  provide  some  suitable 
place  for  a  burying-ground,  for  the  old  yard  was 
deemed  too  strait  for  the  accommodation  of  our  grow- 
ing population,  and  some  difficulties  were  presented 
from  the  claims  of  the  First  Church,  within  whose 
bounds  the  old  burying-ground  lay.  The  prevailing 
ideas  and  fashions  of  the  day,  however,  satisfied 
the  mass  of  the  congregation ;  and  they  would  at 
this  time  have  had  some  little  yard, — two  or  three 
acres  of  flat  ground  near  the  church,  where  none 
would   resort  exce]-)t  from   hard  necessity  or  the 


R03EDALE  CEMETERY.  263 

urgencies  of  recent  bereavement, — but  for  the  efforts 
of  three  or  four  individuals.  These  gentlemen,  with 
prudent  forethought  and  commendable  public  spirit, 
determined  to  anticipate  the  wants  of  a  rapidly 
growing  community  and  the  demands  of  a  pro- 
gressive age,  and,  after  having  failed  to  secure  the 
approval  of  their  plan  by  the  congregation,  pro- 
ceeded to  cany  it  forward  on  their  own  responsi- 
bility. 

"They  purchased  at  once  on  the  most  favorable 
terms  a  tract  of  ten  acres,  and  obtained  an  act  of 
the  New  Jersey  Legislature  incorporating  them  with 
ample  powers  and  adequate  securities  against  the 
encroachments  of  business  enterprise.  This  act  of 
incorporation  was  passed  Nov.  13,  1840,  and  was 
among  the  first  in  our  State  for  chartering  ceme- 
teries. In  the  year  1843  another  purchase  was 
made,  more  than  doubling  the  size  of  the  Ceme- 
tery, and  recently  another,  giving  completeness  to 
the  site,  as  it  embraces  the  whole  of  the  continuous 
ground  adapted  to  burying  purposes,  and  offers  a 
desirable  opportunity  for  improving  the  avenues. 
The  company  now  own  about  twenty  acres,  en- 
closed and  laid  out  with  judgment  and  taste,  as  the 
nature  of  the  ground  and  convenience  have  sug- 
gested. 

"  Perhaps  one-third  of  the  whole  tract  has  been 
already  sold,  or  is  in  a  state  of  readiness  to  be  sold. 
The  present  price  of  lots  is  twenty  dollars  for  an 


264  THE  ORANGE  JOURNAL. 

area  of  820  square  feet.  No  discrimination  is  made 
between  citizens  and  strangers,  all  becoming  mem- 
bers of  the  comj^anj  by  ownership  of  a  lot,  and  all 
being  entitled  to  the  same  privileges.  The  com- 
pany have  never  made,  nor  do  they  expect  to  make 
dividends,  all  their  means  being  intended  to  be 
used  in  improving  and  ornamenting  the  Cemetery." 

Such,  in  outline,  are  the  topographical  features 
of  Orange.  We  may  add  that  it  occupies  a  moder- 
ate elevation  with  respect  to  the  towns  north  and 
south  of  it,  sending  its  waters  to  the  north-east 
through  Bloomfield  toward  the  Passaic,  and  to  the 
south  through  Clinton  to  the  Eahway, 

Among  the  institutions  of  Orange  is  a  printing- 
press,  which  enjoys  a  liberal  and  increasing  patron- 
age in  local  advertising  and  job-work,  and  from 
which  is  issued  weekly  the  Onmge  Journal^  edited 
and  published  by  Edward  Gardner.  A  specimen 
number  of  this  paper  made  its  modest  appearance 
before  the  public  in  January,  1854.  The  paper 
however  was  not  regularly  issued  till  the  first  of 
the  following  July,  when  the  present  editor  assumed 
the  charge  of  it.  Its  first  volume  dates  from  that 
time.  With  the  beginning  of  1856,  it  manifested 
progress  by  appearing  in  an  enlarged  and  improved 
form,  its  six  columns  being  expanded  into  seven, 
and  also  lengthened.  Its  sphere  is  of  necessity 
limited  by  the  proximity  of  the  Newark  and  New 
York  press,  which  pour  their  daily  issues  out  upon 


THE   OLD   ACADEMY.  265 

US.  Yet  its  successive  numbers  find  their  way  in 
the  track  of  tlie  ex-resident  to  nearly  all  the  States 
of  the  Union,  not  excepting  the  Pacific  coast.  The 
ordinary  circulation  is  from  five  to  six  hundred 
copies.  Special  occasions  bring  out  larger  editions. 
In  noticing  the  schools  of  the  village,  we  take 
the  Old  Academy  as  a  starting-point.  This  insti- 
tution, born  fifteen  years  before  the  century,  and 
long  distinguished  by  classical  honors,  had  virtually 
descended  from  its  preeminence  even  before  the 
school  act  of  1838.  From  about  that  time  (as  we 
have  noticed)  it  became  the  school  of  the  Academy 
district.  Having  been  continued  many  years  as  a 
common  school,  the  building  (then  sixty  years  old) 
being  inconvenient,  and  the  ground  too  small  to 
afford  a  yard  for  the  recreation  of  the  pupils,  it  was 
resolved  by  the  district  to  sell  the  property  and 
transfer  the  school  to  a  better  location.  As  the  title 
was  found  defective,  authority  for  the  sale  had  to 
be  sought  of  the  Legislature,  which  was  granted  by 
a  special  act,  in  April,  1845.  A  sale  was  then 
made  to  John  M.  Lindsley,  and  a  site  purchased  in 
Day  street,  on  which  another  building  was  erected. 
The  latter  is  yet  occupied  as  a  public  school. 
The  old  house,  still  tenacious  of  existence,  con- 
tinued to  prolong  its  usefulness  in  the  humble 
capacity  of  a  shoe  store.  It  is  now  used  as  a  flour 
and  feed  store,  ministering  to  bodily  wants  as  it 
long  ministered  to  those  of  the  intellect.     May  its 


266  FEMALE   SEMINARY. 

ancient  walls  long  stand,  and  receive  the  grateful 
respect  of  man  and  beast !  Man  is,  liowever,  less 
merciful  than  time  ;  and  even  this  enduring  monu- 
ment of  the  learning  of  a  past  age  must  yield  in 
its  turn  to  the  inevitable  changes  which  commerce 
is  working  in  places  historically  sacred. 

Among  the  private  schools  of  a  recent  date,  we 
may  mention  that  established  in  the  fall  of  1847 
by  Rev.  F.  A.  Adams,  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  the  Second  Church.  This  was  continued  by 
Mr.  Adams  about  five  years,  when  a  company  of 
stockholders  founded  the  Orange  Female  Semi- 
nary, of  which  he  became  the  Principal.  He  re- 
signed the  charge  in  1856,  and  went  to  Newark, 
but  returned  in  1858  to  Orange,  where  he  is  now 
conducting  a  private  academy  for  boys,  in  Bod- 
well's  Hall.  His  successors  in  the  Seminary  were 
the  Misses  Stebbins,  who  have  been  succeeded  by 
Mrs.  C.  C.  G.  Abbott. 

An  academy  for  both  sexes  was  established,  and 
continued  several  years,  in  High  street,  by  Rev. 
Joshua  D.  Berry,  D.  D.  It  was  discontinued 
about  two  5^ears  since,  and  the  building  is  now 
occupied  as  a  private  residence. 

The  classical  school  of  Rev.  S.  S,  Stocking,  in  the 
the  neighborhood  of  St.  Mark's  Church,  has  been 
some  years  in  operation,  and  continues  to  be  well 
supported.  This  is  a  boarding  and  day  school  for 
boys.     A  similar  institution  in  the  vicinity  of  the 


SCHOOLS.  267 

Second  Church,  on  Mam  street,  is  conducted  by 
Kev.  Philip  C.  Hay,  D.  J).  There  are  two  or  three 
private  female  schools,  of  which  that  of  the  Misses 
Eobinson,  in  Main  street,  near  the  First  Church, 
has  priority  of  age.  Parochial  schools  are  con- 
nected with  St.  Mark's  Church  (Episcopal)  and  St. 
John's  Church  (Roman  Catholic).  The  interests 
of  popular  education  are,  however,  dissociated 
mostly  with  the  public  schools  of  the  village  and 
township.  Into  these  the  children  of  the  people 
flow ;  and  while  the  want  of  a  large,  well-endowed 
and  permanent  institution  of  high  order  is  felt  by 
many  of  our  citizens,  it  must  afford  to  every 
one  a  sincere  satisfaction  that  the  schools  of  the 
State  have  been  made  what  they  are,  and  that  the 
people  patronize  them.  Immense  improvements 
have  been  made  in  the  last  twenty  years  in  the 
arrangement  and  comfort  of  school-houses,  in  the 
qualifications  of  teachers,  and  in  the  methods  of 
instruction.  Considering  how  many  of  the  best 
intellects  of  the  land  are  now  devoted  to  the  sub- 
ject, we  may  confidently  look  for  still  farther  pro- 
gress. Such  are  the  benefits  descending  upon  us, 
and  the  generations  to  come  after  us,  from  those 
men  of  wise  forecast  and  self  devoting  toil,  who 
nourished  the  germs  of  our  now-fruitful  institu- 
tions. 

But  the  school-room  and  the  press  are  not,  in 
free  communities,  the  only  educators  of  the  people. 


268  ORANGE   LYCEUM. 

"Where  a  degree  of  intellectual  activity  is  by  these 
awakened,  and  has  freedom  to  operate,  the  desire 
of  improvement  will  commonly  show  itself  in  some 
form  of  literary  association.  The  first  movement 
of  the  kind  in  Orange  was  the  establishment  of  the 
old  Orange  Library,  of  which  the  late  Giles  Maa- 
deville  had  the  care  for  many  years.  It  comprised 
a  small  collection  of  books  which  belonged  to  the 
stockholders,  and  from  which  the  people  of  the 
town  were  permitted  to  draw  for  a  trifling  sum. 
This  library  was  useful  in  its  day.  Not  a  few  of 
the  men  of  a  generation  now  gone  had  their  read- 
ing taste  improved,  and  their  stociv  of  ideas  en- 
larged by  it. 

In  1832  was  formed  the  Orange  Lyceum^  "  for 
mutual  improvement  in  knowledge  and  literature." 
It  met  weekly,  its  exercises  consisting  of  "  lectures, 
debates,  recitations  in  some  useful  branch  of  science, 
letter -writing  and  composition,  public  reading  and 
declamation."  A  collection  of  books  was  soon 
commenced,  which  were  kept  at  Albert  Pierson's 
school-room,  where  the  Lyceum  at  first  held  its 
meetings.  Mr.  Pierson  was  its  first  President.  He 
was  then  conducting  a  classical  school.  The  meet- 
ings were  subsequently  held  in  the  lecture-room  of 
the  First  Church,  and  finally  at  Willow  Hall.  The 
Lyceum  obtained  a  charter  in  1842.  A  number 
of  the  intelligent  business  men  of  Orange  owe 
much  to  the  intellectual  stimukis  it  furnished. 


LIBRARY    ASSOCIATION,  269 

The  public,  however,  ceasing  to  take  interest  in 
it,  a  new  association  was  started  in  1858.  This, 
the  present  Library  Association,  has  thus  far  been 
highly  successful.  Of  the  two  rooms  which  it 
occupies  in  Bailey  &  Everitt's  new  building,  one  is 
a  large  and  pleasantly  furnished  reading-room,  and 
the  other  contains  a  library  of  about  1,500  volumes. 
These  rooms,  under  the  care  of  Charles -Warbur- 
ton  Brown,  the  librarian,  are  open  every  evening, 
except  the  Sabbath,  and  on  Saturday  afternoons. 
Through  this  Association,  two  annual  courses  of 
popular  lectures  have  been  given,  which  have  re- 
ceived a  liberal  patronage.  The  large  receipts 
from  these  lectures  have  put  the  Association  in  a 
condition  to  increase  further  its  library,  and  to 
strengthen  its  foundations  as  one  of  the  permanent 
and  most  useful  institutions  of  Orange. 

Such  are  the  more  noticeable  features  of  our 
thriving  village.  For  the  truth  of  history,  and  in 
the  hope  of  calling  attention  to  them,  we  must 
speak  of  certain  others,  equally  noticeable,  and  in- 
indicative  of  wants  which  its  rapid  growth  is 
creating. 

The  first  need  is  a  municipal  organization  of  the 
village,  or,  in  lieu  of  this,  some  change  in  the  civil 
administration  of  the  township.  In  the  judgment 
of  many,  the  exigencies  of  the  village  call  for  the 
corporate  powers  of  a  borough.  It  can  hardly  be 
expected  that  local  interests,  which  ai'e  every  year 


270  IMPROVEMENTS   NEEDED. 

assuming  a  greater  magnitude,  should  be  suitably 
regarded  by  the  township  authorities  and  a  large 
proportion  of  their  constituents.  Many  improve- 
ments are  needed,  which  are  not  to  be  looked  for 
at  the  hands  of  a  town-meeting.  The  want  of  bet- 
ter side-walks  has  furnished  a  subject  for  much 
reasonable  complaint  on  the  part  of  both  residents 
and  strangers ;  and  the  very  imperiousness  of  this 
want  has,  during  the  last  year,  induced  many  of 
our  merchants  and  others  to  flag  the  walks  that 
line  their  premises.  In  considerable  portions  of 
Main  street,  and  in  some  of  those  that  intersect  it, 
the  footman  now  finds  the  comfort  of  a  plank,  or 
of  something  broader  and  better,  beneath  his  feet, 
and  the  continuity  and  connection  of  these  com- 
forts are  increasing.  During  the  last  summer,  for 
the  first  time,  two  water-carts  were  seen  passing 
up  and  down  our  principal  thoroughfares,  set  in 
motion  by  private  contributions,  clarifjdng  the 
dusty  air,  and  relieving  the  housemaids  of  no  little 
toil,  by  their  showery  discharges.  Yet,  a  more 
liberal  and  permanent  provision  for  sprinkling  the 
streets  is  needed.  Street-lamps  are  a  further  de- 
sideratum. This  will  doubtless  be  supplied  ere 
long,  now  that  the  means  are  furnished  by  the 
Orange  gas-works. 

A  fire-company  was  formed  nearly  two  years 
ago,  and  an  engine  obtained,  but  the  alarming  in- 
crease of  incendiarism,  and  the  want  of  sufficient 


WANT   OF   POLICE.  271 

and  convenient  supplies  of  water,  produced  a  reac- 
tion against  the  movement.  The  engine  was  not 
paid  for,  and  has  recently  been  removed  from  the 
place.  That  a  fire  department,  however,  will  be 
organized  at  no  distant  day,  admits  of  little  doubt. 
The  need  of  this  would  be  less  if  the  village 
were  protected  by  an  efficient  police.  In  streets 
unilluminated,  and  untraversed  by  any  -kind  of 
nightguard,  the  incendiary  and  the  burglar  find 
circumstances  not  a  little  favorable  to  their  crimi- 
nal designs.  Successful  burglaries  have  of  late 
been  alarmingly  frequent,  and  in  no  case  within 
the  writer's  knowledge  has  either  the  criminal  or 
his  plunder  been  discovered.  Impunity  has  given 
encouragement  to  these  bold  attempts,  in  which 
stores,  private  dwellings,  and  even  sleeping-rooms, 
have  been  robbed  of  their  contents  while  the  own- 
ers slept.  There  is  also  much  open  dissipation  and 
street-drunkenness,  on  which  a  check  would  be 
laid  by  the  vigilance  of  a  well-organized  police. 
About  a  year  ago,  the  exposure  of  property  to 
fires  (which  seemed  to  be  kindled  more  in  sport 
than  malice,  as  they  occurred  chiefly  in  barns, 
stables,  shops,  and  other  out-buildings,)  led  many 
citizens  to  station  a  private  watch  around  buildings 
supposed  to  be  especially  in  danger.  These  evils 
will  doubtless  continue,  without  much  abatement, 
till  they  are  met  by  the  correctives  of  local  muni- 
cipal law. 


272  PRELIMINARY   ACTION. 

How  soon  sucli  a  remedy  will  be  applied,  we  are 
unable  to  predict.  It  apj^ears,  from  the  following 
notice  in  the  Orange  Journal,  of  Nov.  19,  1859, 
(issued  since  the  above  was  written,)  that  the  sub- 
ject is  already  engaging  the  thoughts  of  some  of 
our  leading  men : 

"  A  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  grange  was  held 
at  Willow  Hall,  on  Thursday  evening,  Nov.  17th, 
pursuant  to  a  call  of  the  Township  Committee,  to 
consider  the  propriety  of  applying  to  the  Legisla- 
ture for  some  change  in  the  laws  regulating  the 
Township  Government.  The  meeting  was  called 
to  order  by  Mr.  Nelson  Lindsley.  Dr.  Babbit  was 
appointed  Chairman,  and  E.  D.  Pierson,  Secretary. 
The  Secretary  read  the  call  of  the  meeting,  when 
Dr.  Pierson  moved,  in  order  to  test  the  feelings  of 
the  citizens,  '  That  it  is  expedient  to  take  measures 
for  the  better  government  of  the  town,'  which  mo- 
tion was  earned  unanimously.  It  was  then  moved 
and  carried  that  a  committee  of  five  persons  be 
appointed,  who,  with  the  Township  Committee, 
shall  determine  upon  some  plan  to  carry  out  the 
wishes  of  this  meeting,  as  expressed  by  the  first 
resolution,  and  report  the  same  to  a  subsequent 
meeting. 

"  The  several  matters  mentioned  in  the  call,  viz. : 
grading  of  streets,  a  police  and  fire  department, 
license  for  the  sale  of  liquors,  division  of  election- 


OOMiMITTEES.  273 

districts,  &c.,  were  tlien  taken  up  separately,  and 
after  considerable  discussion,  wliicli  was  partici- 
pated in  by  Messrs,  Dr.  Pierson,  N.  Lindsley, 
Alber.t  Pierson,  J.  L.  Blake,  E.  Johnson,  E.  Gard- 
ner, F.  P.  Sanford,  John  Bonnell,  Simeon  Harri- 
son, the  Chairman,  and  D.  N.  Eopes,  were  each 
referred  to  the  committee. 

"  The  Chairman  then  announced  the  following 
gentlemen  as  the  committee  to  act  with  the  Town- 
ship Committee  to  draft  a  plan  as  aforesaid :  Messrs. 
William  Pierson,  Simeon  Harrison,  Napoleon  Stet- 
son, Isaac  J.  Everitt,  and  Jesse  Williams.  It  was 
moved  and  carried  that  the  Chairman  be  added  to 
the  committee. 

"  Considerable  discussion  was  then  had  on  the 
subjects  of  taxation  and  common  schools,  after 
which  the  meeting  adjourned,  to  meet  at  the  call 
of  the  committee." 


APPENDIX. 


DIED. 

AGK. 

Jan.  i 

S,  1747-8 

56 

Oct. 

22, 

1762 

38 

May 

22, 

1813 

72 

Aug. 

28, 

1840 

77 

Ct0t  of  Jpastor0. 


SETTLED.  DISMISSED. 

Daniel  Taylor, 

Caleb  Smith,  Nov.  30,  1748. 

Jed.  Chapman,  July  22,  1766.    Aug.  13,  1800. 

A.  Hillyer,  D.D.,  Dec.  16,  1801.    Feb.  12,  1833. 

Geo.  Pierson,  June  22,  1829.  Apr.  27,  1831. 

W.  C.  White,  Feb.  13,  1833.  Apr.  18,  1855.  Feb.  7,  1856.      53 

James  Hoyt,  Feb.  14,  1856. 


Ci0t  of  llnUng  (2l^t^•s. 

The  Churcli  Las  no  records  from  whicli  the  names 
of  its  elders  can  be  known  prior  to  1801.  The 
first  three  in  the  following  list  were  obtained  from 
the  records  of  the  Synod  ;  the  next  eleven  from 
those  of  the  Presbytery  ;  some  of  them  being  also 
found  in  the  oldest  minutes  of  the  Session.  There 
must  have  been  other  elders  before  or  contemporar}'- 
with  Joseph  Peck,  but  their  names  cannot  be  re- 
covered. It  is  said  by  Ira  Harrison  that  his  ances- 
tor, Lewis  Crane,  who  died  in  1777,  aged  59,  held 


APPENDIX, 


275 


the  office.  The  evidence  is  wholly  traditional. 
Henry  Osborn  was  one  of  the  elders  who  signed 
the  call  to  Mr.  liillyer  in  1801.  From  that  time 
the  list  is  complete.  David  Munn  was  chosen  to 
the  office  in  1809,  but  declined  to  serve. 


Josepli  Peck, 
Joseph  Riggs, 
Bethuel  Pierson, 
Amos  Baldwin, 

WAS   IN 
OFFICE. 

1757 
1766 
1768 
1775 

LEFT  THE 
PARISH. 

1783 

DIED 

July  12, 

May  16, 
Feb.  23, 

1772 
1799 
1791 
1805 

AGE. 

70 
79 
70 

85 

Noah  Crane, 

1776 

June 

8, 

1800 

81 

John  Peck, 

1784 

Dec. 

28, 

1811 

79 

Joseph  Pierson, 
Isaac  Dodd, 

1791 
1793 

1798 

Oct. 
Aug. 

0, 
19, 

1835 
1804 

76 
76 

John  Perry, 

1793 

Oct. 

1, 

1821 

75 

Joseph  Crane, 
Aaron  Munn, 

1794 
1795 

1798 
1805 

Jan. 

11, 

28, 

1832 
1829 

81 
63 

Zenas  Freeman, 

1798 

Sejit. 

3, 

1800 

40 

Linus  Dodd, 

1798 

Aug. 

3, 

1825 

66 

Amos  Harrison, 

1799 

Sept. 

1832 

77 

Henry  Osborn, 

1801 

1811 

Nov. 

1835 

72 

Moses  Condit, 

1805 

June 

B, 

1838 

78 

John  Lindsley, 

1805 

Dec. 

19, 

1819 

67 

Nathaniel  Bruen, 

1809 

1814 

June 

28, 

1829 

60 

Daniel  P.  Stryker, 

,   1814 

Feb. 

% 

1816 

33 

Adonijah  Osniim, 
Joseph  Pierson, 
Daniel  Condit, 

1814 
1814 
1814 

1831 

Oct. 
May 

5, 
11, 

1819 
1820 

45 

38 

Zadok  Brown, 
John  Nicol, 

1817 
1820 

(?)1818 
1831 

1853 

APPENDIX. 

1820 

1831 

Dee.  23, 

1852 

66 

1820 

1831 

"   31, 

1835 

56 

1822 

1833 

July, 

1857 

73 

1825 

1831 

1826 

*1840 

June  24, 

1853 

74 

1826 

Dec.  1, 

1851 

73 

1831 

Sept.  16, 

,1859 

84 

1831 

Oct.  17, 

1839 

56 

1831 

1858 

1831 

1840 

1833 

1855 

276 

Peter  Campbell, 

Samuel  Freeman, 

Aaron  R.  Hariison, 

Aaron  Peck, 

Amos  Vincent, 

Abraham  Harrison, 

Josiah  Frost, 

Daniel  D.  Condit, 

Ira  Canfield, 

Samuel  L.  Pierson, 

Abiathar  Harrison, 

Jonathan  S.  Williams,  1834 

Smith  Williams,  1839 

Cyrus  Gildersleeve,     1846 

Charles  R.  Day,  1851 

James  Greacen,  1856  Nov.    5,  1857     42 

John  Boynton,  1856 

Steph.  Wickes,  M.  D.,  1856 

Ira  Harrison,  1856 

Cist  of  JHcaconB. 

E  tWe  insert  the  name  of  Samuel  Pierson  (written 
Pairson  on  his  headstone)  for  reasons  which  have 
been  given.  There  can  be  little  cloubt  that  he  was 
one  of  the  first  ofl&cers  of  the  church.  The  second 
pastor,  Rev.  Caleb  Smith,  had  an  account  with 
"  Deacon  Thomson,"  as  his  account-book  shows, 
p.  110.     And  there  is  extant  a  copy  of  the  New 

*  Oasod  to  not. 


APPENDIX. 


277 


York  Pocket  Almanac  for  the  year  1757,  which 
has  been  preserved  in  the  parish,  in  which  we  find, 
among  a  number  of  business  entries,  that  the  owner 
of  it  in  1769  "paid  Deacon  Smith  too  dollars." 
Samuel  Harrison's  account  with  the  parsonage  in 
1748  mentions  Deacon  Samuel  Freeman.  The  dea- 
cons of  later  date  (and  perhaps  some  of  these)  have 
all  of  them  been  elders  also,  except  the  three  now 
in  office. 


WAS  IN 

DIED. 

AGB. 

OFFICE. 

Samuel  Pierson, 

Mar.  19, 

1730 

66 

Samuel  Freeman, 

1748 

Oct.  21, 

1782 

66 

Thomson^ 

1762 

Stilf  ?f7t 

1 7  {)9 

Joseph  Peck, 

A.  1  \JU 

July  12, 

1772 

70 

Bethut'l  Pierson, 

May  16, 

1791 

70 

Amos  Baldwin, 

1783 

Feb.  23, 

1805 

85 

Noah  Crane, (?) 

June    8, 

1800 

81 

Isaac  Dodd, 

Aug.  19, 

1804 

70 

John  Peck, 

Dec.  28, 

1811 

79 

Joseph  Pierson, 

1798 

Oct.    9, 

1835 

76 

John  Perry, 

Oct.    1, 

1821 

75 

Amos  Harrison, 

Sept.    2, 

1832 

77 

Samuel  Freeman, 

1820 

Dec.  31, 

1835 

56 

Abraham  Hariison, 

183;] 

•^       1, 

1851 

73 

Amos  Vincent, 

1833 

•Tune  24, 

1853 

74 

Josiah  Frost, 

1835 

Sept.  16, 

1859 

^4 

Moses  13.  Ciujtiekl, 

1S5] 

Erastus  A.  Graves. 

I8.")r. 

Cvi'us  S.  Minor, 

J  8.")  6 

13 

278  APPENDIX. 


fi  tatifi  t  ics. 

The  figures  given  here  have  been  gathered  from 
the  following  sources:  From  1803  to  1805,  from 
the  Sessional  Eecords ;  from  1806  to  1822,  from 
the  Eecords  of  the  Synod  of  New  York ;  for  1823 
and  1824,  from  those  of  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey  ; 
from  1825  to  the  present  time,  from  the  statistics  of 
the  General  Assembly.  When  these  were  not  pub- 
lished, or  were  found  incomplete,  the  omissions  have 
been  supplied,  so  far  as  they  could  be,  from  other 
sources.  In  the  columns  of  benevolence,  especially  _ 
in  the  first  two  tables,  the  figures  are  quite  defect- 
ive. The  tables  are  conformed  to  the  changes 
which  have  been  made  from  time  to  time  in  the 
form  of  statistical  reports.  These  reports  were 
generally  made  in  April,  and  cover  the  year  pre- 
ceding. 


APPENDIX, 


279 


No.  1. 


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250  65' 

280 


Ar;'i:NJ)lx. 


No.  a 


US 

§1 

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1 

Missions. 

B 

a 

1829 

7 

0 

598 

1 

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18<J3 

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14 

270 

14 

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45  00 

201 

65 

29 

375 

54  41 

*  Contributions  in  aid  of  foreign  missions,  from  1829  to  1838,  were  made  to 
the  Essex  County  Society,  auxiliary  to  the  American  Board.  The  sums  are 
not  Icnown  ;  the  accounts  of  the  society,  wlvich  has  ceased  to  exist,  not  beinp 
found. 


APPENDIA', 


281 


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*  Incomplete. 


t  For  Western  Colleges.  %  For  Am  Tract  Society, 


i 


Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Libraries 


1    1012  01251    8579 


ij! 


